Central Park Road Residence is a Danish-style revival of a 1970s Melbourne home for clients with Danish heritage. The architects ensured that Hygge (a Danish word for cosiness) was at the core of its design.
On arrival, the entry is defined by an oversized eave that works with the horizontality of the facade and ensures cohesiveness with the home's architectural form. It has been punctured to allow substantial soft landscaping adjacent the entrance, as well as provide increased light into the interior of the heart of the home without compromising on privacy.
The horizontality of the architectural form was further strengthened by filling in vertical joints in brickwork and raking existing horizontal joint lines. The language of the exterior brickwork is carried inside, to form and define volumes. Walls have been left unadorned, with interiors celebrating the beauty of simplicity and imperfection.
One of the biggest challenges was designing a home that was very open, as requested by the clients, but without the noise and distraction that can sometimes result. This was countered by creating spaces that "unfold" and are layered upon each other, rather than one simple open volume.
Solid brick exterior walls carry inside to frame the heart of the home (kitchen and dining) and create interior portal openings which connect adjacent spaces (dining, living and bar). The layering of these spaces was further strengthened by adding plate glass walls that intersected the solid walls. While spaces were isolated acoustically, a controlled visual connection was promoted.
Further connections have been facilitated between the adjacent garden and the space around the house, providing a layering of landscape and surrounding built form.
The home is light-filled with fresh air and aspect, yet there is a stillness to the spaces that emnates calm and cosiness.
