Tattoo House | Maynard Architects | Architecture

An extension to an existing 3 bedroom house in Fitzroy North to provide new living and kitchen space for a growing young family.
Many of the design decisions were generated by the tight budget. The form is a simple box- the strongest form an architect can achieve at a bargain basement price.

Every element needed to perform multiple functions for maximum return- hence the kitchen bench becomes part of the stair, and the screening required by council reflects heat and glare away from the expansive windows, neatly eliminating the need for curtains.

Council requirements regarding overlooking which dictate a 75% opacity to second-storey spaces are resolved by UV stable stickers rather than expensive and elaborate screening. The tree supergraphic creates playful and ever-changing shadows across the interior spaces and is composed of images taken in the local park.

Despite these challenges a double story, non-domestic scale space was achieved with a basic palette of materials.

Council requirements regarding overlooking which dictate a 75% opacity to second-storey spaces are resolved by UV stable stickers rather than expensive and elaborate screening. The tree supergraphic creates playful and ever-changing shadows across the interior spaces and is composed of images taken in the local park.

The tattoo was conceived a continuation of the tree graphic around the dumb white box- to soften the impact of this modern addition to a resolutely 19th-century neighbourhood.
Furthermore the design was a neighbourly gesture. The household to the west has a lush cultivated garden which is very important to the resident. A stencil of vegetation was created in-house and applied by the AMA team in a covet operation to give the neighbour an additional layer of garden.

Photography by Peter Bennetts and Cara WisemanBuilder : Renovation One

Winner - Master Builders national award 2008
Winner - Master Builders Victorian award 2008
“The best renovations of 2007” - The AGE
“While the new volumes are generous, so are the ideas” - MARK magazine
Mocoloco’s top 5 for 2007 - mocoloco.com