Doncaster House, Melbourne Residence, Like living in the 70s Building, Victoria Architecture Images
Doncaster House in Melbourne
Like living in the 70s Development in Victoria, Australia – design by Steffen Welsch Architects
16 Mar 2017
Like living in the 70s
Design: Steffen Welsch Architects
Location: Doncaster, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Like living in the 70s

Like living in the 70s is a revival of a late modernist home in suburban Doncaster. Our practice viewed this project as ?departure with the aim of continuity?, based on the paradigm that any new design is derived from a pre-existing condition ? ?to blend in or contrast"? made redundant.

In our practice we work to principles of ?simple moves? and economy: no more, or less, than is necessary to achieve our program. Work in this typology typically ?finishes the job?, rather than ?starts from scratch?.
The renovation was called to resolve matters insufficiently addressed in the original design: thermal comfort, family dynamics, privacy needs, relationship with landscape, connectivity and future use. We investigated the shortcomings of the original scheme while acknowledging the cultural responsibility to the sensibilities of the suburban context and its architectural vocabulary. The original plan appeared open and fluid but restricted activities to undersized rooms. The architectural language applied to the original house was strong but could not camouflage planning inefficiencies: zoning was outdated...