Atop a shop by Tsai Design

An existing inner city residence sitting above a violin shop in Collingwood, Victoria was renovated and extended to provide a sustainable and sunllt retreat for the shop owners. The old fashioned, cold and lacklustre home has been replaced with a warm, bright home with two decks and a roof top entertainers deck. It’s rare for this type of building to have access to outdoor space but this home now provides spaces to enjoy a morning coffee in the sun or a rooftop space to grow plants and entertain guests.

Designed by Tsai Design, the levels are connected via a central stairwell with a translucent and insulated roof which floods the home with sunlight and views to the sky above. A greenwall has been installed to provide further connection with the outdoors, which makes the home feel like a flood-lit courtyard.

Cork flooring has been used in the open plan kitchen, dining room and lounge room, which provides the home with excellent thermal and acoustic properties, plus it’s also easy to maintain, warm to touch, hypoallergenic and feels great to walk on.

Sustainability specs:
– Recycled timber used internally
– Weathertex cladding used externally, Platinum Greentag certified
– Cork floor planks, biodegradable and recyclable
– Insulated extensively in ceiling, walls and floor
– Recycled bricks
– Self engaged door seals installed to base of all doors
– Double glazed skylights
– Clear Sunlite multiwall polycarbonate sheet over stair void
– Timber framed, double glazed windows with FSC certified timber frames
– 2000L rainwater tank
– Water efficient tapwear installed throughout
– Vertical green wall installed in stair void

Typical of these shopfront terraces, the floor plan was long, dark and narrow – just 4.5m across at its widest point. Bringing light to the heart of the home would be central to the new design’s success. To address the apartments shading the full length of the building to the north, we overhauled the central stairwell, introducing a translucent roof that would flood the living space with light and warmth.