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# hamlet design
This house was extended to become a small village
The designers of this home in Australia had some rather interesting ideas when it came to expansion.
CONVENTION WOULD DICTATE that if you are going to extend your home the best way to go about it would be either up or across – crudely speaking.
This family home in Australia has gone against the logic, having been expanded through a number of additional units to make it look like a village.
It is located in Alphington, a suburb in the north-east of Melbourne, and is home to a couple and their 8-year-old twin sons.
Speaking about its design, Andrew Maynard Architects said that the family who own the property had asked for a space where “community, art and nature to come together” and so they “designed them a village”.
The home has been designed to incorporate the natural environment surrounding it as well as encouraging a sense of community through the use of lower fences.
The front garden is a communal vegetable garden with neighbours encouraged to take what they want and help with the gardening.
The property has been designed in such a way as to allow the space to be split into multiple zones if the family decided to downsize when the two children move out.
The architects also place emphasis on sustainability within the house. The windows of the home have been designed to allow it to maximise “passive solar gain” – reducing the need to heat and cool mechanically.
The property also utilises water tanks and has high-performance insulation throughout.
