Leighton Street House

This project started off life with our clients purchasing the ‘million dollar hovel’ or ‘Grey Lynn dump’, depending on which newspaper you read. We were soon tasked with the renovation challenge of turning the ‘hovel’, into a high end home and tripling its size.

The 120 year old Victorian villa was fully renovated and relocated on the site to allow for off street car parking. Behind the villa the new contemporary addition steps down from the old house onto a polished concrete floor with the addition wrapping around a sheltered north facing courtyard. The main body of the addition is two levels. The lower level is open plan living with decks at each end, there is a glass atrium and open stairs connecting the main bedroom on the upper level. A full height void and mezzanine further connect the levels and allow light to filter through and cross ventilation to occur.

This was a challenging project which included a narrow site, heritage issues, a dilapidated existing house, and all of which required significant council buy in. Although a difficult project on many fronts this is the type of project we love to work on. It requires a highly creative and open minded approach. It can difficult to see the potential early on, but all projects start somewhere and we work through them with a proven process and a considered approach. This was a difficult project but it proved with the right creative thought and a positive approach as well as a willing client, a successful outcome is always possible.

What our clients say…
“Metropolitan Architectural Studio provided architectural design and sound project guidance on our project that involved relocating the house on the site and adding a two story addition. AJ provided outstanding advice on the local government requirements and excellent design ideas to compliment our vision. The entire project ran very smoothly and was completed ahead of our expectations.”

Builder: Evoke Developments