Little Brick House, Northcote
Located behind a Northcote family home, a compact brick residence quietly carries a powerful narrative. Designed by Ben Callery Architects, this new secondary dwelling allows a mother, Maddy, to transition into a thoughtfully designed smaller home, while her son and his partner take up residence in the original house.
GALLERY
Though modest in scale, the project reflects much larger conversations around urban density, multigenerational living, sustainability and the idea of aging in place.
Spanning just 60 square metres per floor, the two-storey home defies expectations of tight living. Instead, the home is airy, open and strongly connected to its outdoor setting. “The core idea of this house is very much striving for this considered simplicity,” says Ben Callery. “To make a house that’s so compact still work and feel spacious and livable and lovable requires some architectural ideas.”
Maddy’s vision for the home was both practical and deeply personal. She wanted a space that would support her long-term needs and allowed her to stay connected to her family and neighbourhood, while also being easy to live in as she got older.
“Maddy and Michael’s brief was quite unique but actually something we’re hearing more of,” says Callery. “It addresses a lot of topical issues: aging in place, increasing density, housing affordability and sustainability, both in terms of the environmental impact of building and living in our homes, but also in terms of staying connected to community.”
At the rear of the home, the living and dining area opens fully onto a private courtyard, creating a strong indoor-outdoor connection. Upstairs, a flexible second living area and study overlook the street, while the bedroom at the back sits among the branches of an established gum tree. “It has a lovely sense of tranquility,” says Callery. “It floats in the leaves and branches of this beautiful established gum tree.”
Sustainability plays a central role in the project. The home is both energy-efficient and environmentally conscious. The home runs entirely on electricity and produces much of its own power through rooftop solar panels. Thick brick walls help regulate internal temperatures, and high-performance windows reduce the need for artificial heating and cooling.
“Obviously sustainability is important in all of our work,” explains Callery. “Big picture, a project like this—increasing the density—is a more sustainable use of our land, both environmentally and socially.”
Material selection further reinforces the home’s environmental and contextual sensitivity. Recycled bricks give the home a sense of texture and durability, while natural Australian timbers bring warmth and a strong connection to place. “The timber floors and timber cabinetry are really nice natural materials against that quite hard brick,” Callery says. “They’re very tactile and reinforce that connection with nature that we have with the courtyard. Our approach is very much wanting materials to be of this place.”
Clever design choices help the small space feel more generous, full-height glazing, wide-opening doors and furniture lifted from the floor all enhance visual flow and openness.
“Inside, giving it a sense of space that’s far greater than its modest footprint is a challenge,” Callery explains. “Ideas like the raised island bench and floating cabinetry help the space feel bigger than what it actually is.” And for Callery, simplicity is part of the charm. “There’s something beautiful about little houses,” he says. “They are often very endearing, and simplicity only enhances that. That doesn’t mean stripping everything back, we can still have warmth and tactility and natural materials, but we don’t need to overcomplicate things.”
Selecting Sun Shading
Managing the intense western sun was a critical design consideration. While Maddy wanted upper-level windows facing the street to maintain a connection with the neighbourhood, this orientation risked excessive heat gain during summer afternoons.
“Facing west, these windows would provide lovely light in cooler months,” explains Callery, “but would be at risk of overheating in summer as the late afternoon sun streams in.”
The solution came in the form of operable Warema external venetian blinds from Shade Factor. These adjustable blinds respond to shifting light conditions and allow for precise control throughout the day. “They allow full control of the late afternoon western sun,” says Callery. “You can lift them to let in light and views, tilt them to manage glare, or close them completely to block out heat, while still keeping a visual connection to the street.”
In addition to improving comfort, the blinds bring a subtle dynamism to the home’s street-facing facade. “They were essential in enabling us to provide Maddy the interaction with the street that she wanted, while still being able to deliver the passive solar design that we and Maddy valued.”
“They also provide a lovely animation to the facade as blinds go up and down daily and seasonally, demonstrating the house’s interaction with the environment.”
Set neatly within the brick facade and controlled remotely, the blinds balance function with aesthetics. “They’re a lovely, refined product,” says Callery. “And the way they sit flush with the walls gives a really simple, elegant finish.”
PROJECT CREDITS
ARCHITECT Ben Callery Architects
BUILDER Truewood Constructions
VIDEOGRAPHER AND PHOTOGRAPHER Anthony Richardson
Located behind a Northcote family home, a compact brick residence quietly carries a powerful narrative. Designed by Ben ...
Mario Romano Walls® is a design application that transforms Staron® Solid Surfaces into sculptural, three-dimensional works of art. ...
Pasta la Vista, a new Italian bistro in Almaty, Kazakhstan, brings a vibrant reinterpretation of Memphis-inspired design to ...
Shading the perfect view: making the most of Canberra’s changing light Tucked into the slopes of a Canberra hillside ...
We understand that window and door energy performance parameters, double glazing, low-e glass, and safety glass can be ...