A large sliding panel, complete with an abstract painting, moves to conceal the kitchen.Credit: Rory Gardiner
Pivotal to the design is the insertion of an elongated blackbutt-clad pod (12 metres in length and six metres in width) that sits snugly below the pavilion’s hip-shaped roof.
“Our clients wanted a contemporary kitchen and living areas and, importantly, a place to display their art,” says Beck, who worked with gallery Chapman & Bailey on this front, and whose practice is enmeshed in Victoria’s visual arts sector.
Peck and Hunt were also fortunate their clients were not only open to fresh ideas but different approaches that challenged usual renovation styles (think of a glass box on the back of a period home).
“When we suggested the oven would fit better at one end of the pod, they warmed to the idea immediately,” says Peck, who feels clients like these are rare to find.
Having a kitchen pantry that extends into a dining area also breaks with tradition.
The architects also adeptly responded to a structure that offered flexibly and one which could easily “morph” into something else depending on the occasion.
A large sliding panel, for example, complete with an abstract painting, moves to conceal the kitchen. Alternatively, cupboards accessed from the dining area reveal everything from a bar to general storage. The kitchen can be easily left open on both sides with unimpeded views of established banana plants, bearing flowers at certain times of the year.
The central pod was also conceived as a backdrop to display art.Credit: Rory Gardiner
One of the drawbacks of wanting to display art against a glass wall was also addressed with customised steel frames devised by Chapman & Bailey that allow each work to be displayed independently of a glass wall. Obviously, the central pod was also conceived as a backdrop to display art.
Given the owners’ love of films, the dining table is often moved to one side of the space with loose chairs allowing for friends to enjoy a night’s entertainment on the big screen rather than be glued to a television (there isn’t one to be found here).
There’s a simple timber bench suspended from the ceiling, aligned to the mullions set into the glazed windows.Credit: Rory Gardiner
And while most living in a minimal space may find it difficult to conceal smaller objects, here, there are kick/skirting boards at the base of the glass walls that allow for additional storage. Rather than a clunky breakfast table, there’s a simple timber bench suspended from the ceiling, aligned to the mullions set into the glazed windows.
“You can still read the pavilion’s history as a greenhouse but it’s now another part of the bigger picture, one that can be traced to what was then a substantial heritage estate,” adds Peck.
The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.
