House Miko
Brunswick, VIC, Australia
Feasibility Project: 2008
Type: Living - Single Residential
Client: Private
One of a group of sites created with the demolition of a factory complex, the site is small in size and located in Melbourne’s inner city. Typical of much of the inner urban sub-division in Melbourne, the site is subject to a range of local planning controls pertaining to boundary setback, overlooking and overshadowing. mb-studio were engaged to undertake a design and feasibility study to explore the design possibilities and cost implications of a live-work dwelling prior to the site being auctioned for sale. Engaging with the required setbacks across a narrow site, the building volume is skewed in plan and section to allow the possibility of a two storey dwelling. This design decision also established a series of intimate external courtyards with direct relationships to their adjacent internal spaces.
The design process of House Miko revealed a range of previously untested responses to local planning controls on this typical site. The potential implications of the broader application of this approach, are being investigated further through an ongoing research project.
