Office MI-JI – the ‘forever house’

Replacing a 1920s house elevated above the ground, even a significant renovation wouldn’t have addressed mobility issues going forward. “The house also didn’t provide the type of accommodation our clients were looking for, which included a substantial arts studio,” says Carter, who was also mindful of creating a slightly Japanese aesthetic that offered a sense of calmness and tranquillity. So, the garden, by landscape architect Susannah Lawler, is minimal and considered, with the home’s original low brick fence retained and modified.

Constructed in concrete block with the first level clad in tiles, the two-storey house in bayside Melbourne, also addresses the need for light-filled spaces – with the owners leaving behind a relatively dark 1930s Tudor-style house. Based on a crucifix plan, with the core given over to the kitchen, the design is cleverly articulated into four quadrants.

One quadrant, located at the front, has a double garage and on the other side of the entrance is a workshop and a guest bedroom. And to the rear, orientated to the north, the third quadrant is a spacious living area, with the fourth given over to the study/home office and the main bedroom suite. And to cater for children and grandchildren visiting from overseas, the first level is their domain, with three bedrooms and a large rumpus room. Pivotal to the scheme is the blurring of the indoor spaces, felt most in areas such as the dining room – with its Castlemaine rock floor extending from the terrace.

The slender glass doors pull back into cavity walls to further loosen the division between the indoors and out. Having courtyards on four sides of the house also bring light into the core of the floorplan where the kitchen is located. “We wanted to provide clear sight lines to the garden as much as drawing in the light,” says Carter.

The kitchen is not only light-filled but also light in the selection of materials used by Office MI-JI. Rock maple, for example, a pale timber, was used for the kitchen joinery – complementing the skeletal-like powder coated island bench that frames the marble. A similar lightness can be seen in the main living area, with its steel and glass soar-tooth roof, providing a gentle ‘nod’ to the 1970s. Including the glazed roof also allows for the established gum trees at the rear of the property to come into the picture.

Pivotal to the brief was the need to create two separate studios, one for producing paintings with the other for making Japanese paper. So, in the mix there’s a well-appointed studio, complete with a turret, and also a detached studio in the back garden that can be opened to the elements.

For the couple, it has certainly responded to the way they use the spaces, as well as being flexible for the extended family. And for those who stay, there’s the pleasure of standing on the first-floor terrace, and taking in the views of Port Phillip Bay. And depending on the weather, the house can be completely opened up or closed down, with flywire screen doors allowing the house to breathe over the warmer months of the year.

You can find out more about Office MI-JI on their instagram or website. Story by Stephen Crafti. Photographs by Ben Hosking.