A house that turns toward the river.
The site sits on a sloping corner block in Ascot Vale, barely 100 metres from the Maribyrnong River. The existing dwelling had its back to the best of it. Our clients wanted a replacement home that would celebrate the proximity to the river corridor - its views, its tree canopy, its light - while fitting within an established neighbourhood where traditional brick and weatherboard homes are gradually giving way to contemporary forms.
The new house is rotated slightly toward the south-west, orienting the main living spaces to maximise views over the river and the canopy beyond. It steps down with the natural slope of the land as a series of split levels - four bedrooms including a master suite, open-plan living and dining, a basement garage, and an outdoor pool, spa and sunken firepit at the rear. Natural concrete, timber and restrained greys form the material palette, chosen to sit quietly within the established landscape character of the streetscape, and from the Maribyrnong River Trail on the opposite bank
Four gardens, one house.
The landscape design by Phillip Withers is as integral to the project as the building itself, organised around four distinct garden areas that wrap the house and connect it to the leafy character of its surroundings. An arrival garden at the entry retains the existing mature Jacaranda and introduces a Japanese Maple, lawn and raised planters. A western path garden provides sheltered access along the side boundary. The southern leisure garden at the rear holds the pool, outdoor dining and a sunken firepit beneath existing canopy trees. And an eastern retreat garden off the dining area offers a quieter, more enclosed green space with built-in seating.
Raised planters sit on top of the stepped blockwork fencing along the side street, softening the built form with vegetation that will grow and fill over time. From across the river, the house will read as one more dwelling sitting within the established tree cover - present but not dominant. Construction is under way with Haven Constructions, who are documenting the build as it progresses.
