Bach Lane (Cloud Nine)

RESEARCH BACKGROUND: Bach Lane (Cloud Nine) is the conversion of an 1830s triple brick former stables and warehouse in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy into a 2700 sq foot family home. Researcher-landscape architect Charles Anderson worked with Andrew Simpson Architects to successfully integrate the ground plane with the architectural program to create a fluid continuity between outside and inside and thus maximise the potential of a very small and tight outdoor space. The landscape consequently afforded the project an elegant spatial and formal coherence, as well as providing a generative template for the design of interior spatial organisation and formal expression in cabinetry. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION: The conversion of the building to a single family residence balanced the heritage value of the existing building with the desire of the client for a high-tech environmentally sustainable house that reflected their needs as a tight-knit family. Within a dense urban setting, the project successfully provides a sense of the natural environment and the seasons. There are views to the sky from the interior. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE: The significance of Bach Lane (Cloud Nine) is demonstrated by its shortlisting for the Victorian Architecture Awards 2012, Residential Alterations and Additions award and by the many international and local reviews of the project, including: Bach Lane (Cloud Nine) Monument, Issue 107, pp64-71 (2012); IW_Interior World, Vol 103, pp100-107 (2012); House Design 1, A&C Publishing, pp132-137 (2012); Mark Magazine, Issue 38, pp52-53 (Amsterdam, 2012). Online publicatons include Zilla Magazine (15 Oct 2011); ArchDaily (3 Oct 2011); and Freshome, 'Stable building transformed into charming contemporary home in Australia' (5 Oct 2011).