Matt Gibson Architecture + Design has adapted a heritage-listed Victorian house in Melbourne by "weaving" a modern programme into the existing red-brick shell.
The studio has refurbished a 19th century house and added a two-storey rear extension made from brick and glass. The home been longlisted in this year's Dezeen Awards in the Residential rebirth category.

The dramatic two-storey rear addition has a weighty looking brick first floor supported on a steel-frame, to give the appearance that the kitchen undercroft has been "scooped" out from below it.
The extension, while in keeping with the brickwork of the original home, takes a modern form, with a perforated corner, geometric roofline and a projecting metal window frame window.
Originally built in 1872, the house is one of a pair which face the street with identical frontages and are examples of the city's Boom Style architecture ? decorative homes built in the 19th century with English and Italian influences.
"In our heritage investigation, we catalogued and researched not only the history of this house but also the evolution and iconography of building fabric and forms in the neighbourhood," said the studio.

The studio describes the design process as one of "restoration and sensitive changes", opening up the ground floor to create a route from the front door directly through to the garden.

"The process of renovation allowed for the act of revealing and exposing the hi...