Closed, monolithic and dark on the outside, open, complex and luminous on the inside. This house designed by Australian studio Mirror Systems in Melbourne is an enigmatic building that is difficult to relate to an existing residential typology.
The peculiar form of the Huntly Street project is given by the particular constraints of the site, which is cut diagonally by a stormwater easement, on which it was not possible to build. This is why, on a surface area of 131 square metres, the footprint of the new building is only 55 square metres. Other constraints on the vertical development of the house mean that its total area, spread over three levels, is 125 square metres.
The architects of Mirror Systems have boldly resolved the various architectural aspects of the house with a stepped geometry and very complex interiors: the rooms are always different heights, while the careful study of the openings in the walls and roofs serves to give each space the right amount of light, even though from the streetside the building appears to be silent.