Nic Owen Architects updates ornate Melbourne terrace with ribbed steel extension
A pair of steel-clad volumes with pitched roofs and glazed gables provide additional living space behind the ornamental facade of this Victorian terrace in Melbourne (+ slideshow).
![The Big House Little House by Nic Owen Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Big-House-Little-House-by-Nic-Owen-Architects_dezeen_468_0.jpg)
Melbourne studio Nic Owen Architects was asked to renovate and extend the mid-terrace house in the city's Fitzroy North neighbourhood for a couple and their two children.
![The Big House Little House by Nic Owen Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Big-House-Little-House-by-Nic-Owen-Architects_dezeen_468_1.jpg)
The architects retained the traditional picket fence, intricate metalwork and paster mouldings of the property's street-facing facade, while at the rear a two-storey extension is clad in sheets of dark grey steel.
Related content: more residential extensions
The Big House Little House extension slots into a five-metre-wide and 26-metre-long plot in the garden and is undetectable from the street. Both the upper floor and lower floor extensions are topped by asymmetric pitched roofs and feature glazed gables.
![The Big House Little House by Nic Owen Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Big-House-Little-House-by-Nic-Owen-Architects_dezeen_468_14.jpg)
The extension and reorganisation of the existing building provides the home with four bedrooms, a study and two bathrooms.
![The Big House Little House by Nic Owen Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Big-House-Little-House-by-Nic-Owen-Architects_dezeen_468_5.jpg)
"The client was after more space, a larger living area, updated facilities and a better connection to their back yard from their small existing Victorian terrace," explained Nic Owen. "They loved the area and have two young children and were outgrowing their current dwelling."
![The Big House Little House by Nic Owen Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Big-House-Little-House-by-Nic-Owen-Architects_dezeen_468_3.jpg)
"My aim for this project was to create a modern extension that addresses the client's requirements, challenges the idea of typical space requirements, and to create an extension that does not adversely affect the amenities of neighbouring buildings."
![The Big House Little House by Nic Owen Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Big-House-Little-House-by-Nic-Owen-Architects_dezeen_468_6.jpg)
Sunlight and shadow studies were undertaken to lessen the impact of the extension on the rest of the terrace and informed the skewed pitch of the roofs.
The ground-floor living space was pitched at a low height, while the first floor was set back from the garden to provide privacy for the bedroom within.
![The Big House Little House by Nic Owen Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Big-House-Little-House-by-Nic-Owen-Architects_dezeen_468_8.jpg)
Glazing stretches right up to the apex of the roofs to maximise the intake of natural light and views of trees in the lane to the rear.
![The Big House Little House by Nic Owen Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Big-House-Little-House-by-Nic-Owen-Architects_dezeen_468_9.jpg)
Pine cabinetry and pale stone bench tops help to reflect light in the open-plan living space, while dark-stained eucalyptus decking covers a pair of small courtyards to the rear and the side of the property.
Upstairs, a small study occupies a skylit landing that leads into the new bedroom.
![The Big House Little House by Nic Owen Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Big-House-Little-House-by-Nic-Owen-Architects_dezeen_468_11.jpg)
The project is among a growing number of renovations to Victorian- and Edwardian-era housing in inner Melbourne.
Further towards the coast in Albert Park, a red brick property received a Modernist-inspired extension, while Clare Cousin's brick extension creates separate wings for living and sleeping for a property in St Kilda East.
![The Big House Little House by Nic Owen Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Big-House-Little-House-by-Nic-Owen-Architects_dezeen_468_13.jpg)
Photography is by Christine Francis.
Project credits:
Architecture: Nic Owen Architects
Builder: Whale Builders
Structural engineer: John Horan & Associates
Builder surveyor: Reddo
![The Big House Little House by Nic Owen Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Big-House-Little-House-by-Nic-Owen-Architects_dezeen_2_1.gif)
![The Big House Little House by Nic Owen Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Big-House-Little-House-by-Nic-Owen-Architects_dezeen_4_1.gif)
![The Big House Little House by Nic Owen Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Big-House-Little-House-by-Nic-Owen-Architects_dezeen_3_1.gif)