Prior Barraclough has redesigned and extended the Union Street House in Northcote, Australia.

Union Street House is a carefully calibrated addition to a modest worker's cottage on a tightly constrained site.

The architecture synthesises a range of competing considerations into a singular, coherent form that is both functional and gestural – with its geometry shifting in plan and section to create spatial drama and intrigue.

The extension is defined by an articulated timber surface that consolidates and conceals ancillary functions and wraps a generous interior.

The surface operates as both an infrastructural armature and a circulatory and generative element, directing internal movement, defining interior zones and framing views of the backyard and sky.

This project has been shortlisted in the home interior category of Dezeen Awards 2023.

Studio: Prior Barraclough
Project: Union Street House
Credits: Ben Monagle, Camson Homes and Adams Consulting Engineers