When Contemporary Design is the Right Heritage Response: Albert Park Case Study

Constructed around 1885, this weatherboard corner shop and dwelling was part of the everyday life in the Albert Park Residential Precinct serving as a green grocer for more than half a century. After the grocer closed in 1960, the two buildings were combined into one home and extensively altered.

At the time redevelopment was being contemplated, the former shop and dwelling was beyond practical repair. Decades of alteration and deterioration had left little original fabric intact, raising a complex question:

How could the site's heritage values continue to contribute to the precinct if retention was no longer a practical option?

Architect Clare Cousins approached RBA to assess the heritage significance of the place, interpret the planning controls and determine whether redevelopment could be justified.

RBA’s analysis established the planning case for redevelopment and identified the features of the former building that contributed most strongly to the site and precinct. These findings informed the Architect’s design response. The splayed corner, shiplap cladding and galvanised pitched roof were reinterpreted rather than replicated, connecting the new building to the precinct while allowing it to remain clearly contemporary.

The project secured planning approval and transformed a highly constrained site into an award-winning contemporary home. The new home acknowledges the character of the precinct through a distinctly contemporary architectural language.

"Surrounded by single-fronted terrace houses, the corner site is very prominent. RBA Architects provided valuable heritage insight and guidance for this project which informed our design response. We used materials reminiscent of period housing, such as horizontal timber weatherboard and galvanised skillion roofs. The home dissects and inverts a traditional gable roofed house to create a courtyard house with a sunlight and a garden at the centre." - Clare Cousins.

This completed home won several accolades including: Houses Awards – Winner – New House Under 200 Square Metres. Houses Awards – Joint Winner – House in a Heritage Context. Victorian Architecture Awards – Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (New). City of Port Phillip Design and Development Awards – Winner – Residential new build, one to two dwellings. City of Port Phillip Design and Development Awards – Commendation – Jury’s award for excellence in urban design.