Ackmans House

Ackmans House is a conversion of a historic Melbourne warehouse into an inner-city dwelling. The project revolves around the heritage fabric of the existing building; revealing, framing and foregrounding its texture and tactility.

When we peeled back the layers of the existing warehouse to its core, a patchwork of bluestone, brick and timber trusses were revealed. The texture, tactility and history of these materials was so compelling and full of character that it was obvious any addition needed to be complementary and recessive.

The concept for the project was to ‘nest’ forms within the shell of the existing building. Kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms and services are organised into a series of smaller pods, housed within the overall volume of the warehouse container. These pods are loosely offset from the edges of the warehouse walls to preserve the heritage fabric of the existing building. The interstitial spaces between the new insertions and the outer shell become informal living areas, places to dwell and circulation spaces - invoking a conversation between the old and the new.