Mills House is an extension to a one level weatherboard terrace in Melbourne. The original facade and front two rooms of the terrace remained. One of those rooms has been altered to incorporate a study and a bathroom. A large lightwell separates the original structure from the new extension. The extension has two bedrooms and a bathroom above an open kitchen, living and dining space. Mills is a complex home, full of ideas, however there are two core elements: the floor is a giant toy box and the rear facade filters and softens the strong sunlight that had previously dominated the back-yard. The toy-box floor is 450 mm deep and a typical seat is roughly 450 mm high. The open floor is not only storage space, it is also play space at a comfortable seat height for adults.
Austin Maynard Architects used perforated metal throughout Mills. They tried to create a stair that feels light like lace, which is difficult considering the constant live loads a stair is under. Perforated steel sheet is folded allowing light to be shared while also enabling conversations from one level to the other, without requiring you to be in the same space. They’ve draped a white perforated metal facade down the face of the rear elevation. The facade reflects most of the unwanted sunlight in summer, allowing a soft filtered light to penetrate the house.
Info © Austin Maynard Architects
Images © Peter Bennetts Studio
