Located in Richmond, the house is within a Neighbourhood Residential Zone and within the local heritage overlay. Surrounded by houses with strong character, the house is part of a line-up of one-story heritage cottages, with tiled roofs and weather board clad walls.

With its green footpaths and leafy trees, Cole Street is part of a small network of streets and lanes, which contribute to give the house its private and familiar character.

The house is to be renovated and extended on ground level with additional living and entertaining areas. Upstairs, bedrooms, bathrooms and a retreat make up for a whole new family dedicated floor.

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Downstairs, the house extends towards the South, taking advantage of the site’s long proportions. In response to both the heritage sightlines and the regulatory setbacks, the massing of the house extension on the first floor is an interesting and contemporary form.

The house frontage faces North, which meant that the new first story extension will cast additional shadows towards the backyard located south of the site. To mitigate this impact, the new extension shifted North towards the street as much as possible, wedging itself within the mandatory setbacks.

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Clad in aluminium and pierced with slot windows that minimise the impact of the western sun, the Wedge creates opportunity from constraints in a modern and astute design response.