How to navigate the delicate balance between preserving character and introducing contemporary design when renovating or building in a heritage setting.
A classic transformation of a Victorian house by Bryant Alsop. Image credit: Jack Lovel.
For homeowners contemplating a renovation or a new build in a heritage area, the question is rarely whether they love character. It is how to honour it. Do you replicate what was, or reinterpret it for now?
For architects Bryant Alsop, the starting point is always understanding.
As architect Richard Bryant explains, “In doing heritage and heritage listed buildings, part of the background research is trying to understand the history of the building, to understand those layers, to unpick them and try to identify what’s important. Then asking, ‘How do we play within that context?’”
In this way, heritage work is not about freezing a building in time. It is about discernment. What must be preserved? What can evolve? Which elements are primary and which can sit in support?
Architect Sarah Bryant is clear that this investigation must integrate with the realities of contemporary life.
“It does seem at the boring, dry end of things, but it’s important to think about services at the outset: heating, cooling, electrical, solar. Integrating these services will result in improved comfort and better running costs, and improved longevity of the home.”
A timeless family home in Melbourne by Bryant Alsop blends traditional aesthetics with modern sustainability, featuring a spacious layout, natural materials, and a harmonious connection to the garden.
Reconfiguring compartmentalised rooms into open plan kitchen, dining and living spaces is a common and transformative move in heritage homes, often accompanied by a carefully considered extension that expands the footprint while preserving the integrity of the original fabric.
But this is where the replicate or reinterpret debate gets controversial. Bryant Alsop’s philosophy is succinct: keep the old, old, and the new, new. Homeowners often arrive with an instinct to blend everything seamlessly, to extend a Californian bungalow as though it had always been there. Yet clarity can be more powerful than mimicry.
“What you end up with is a clear delineation between the old and new,” shares Richard. “It might be a change of materials, or it might be a change in levels; it might be where the steps go down to the addition, or where the ceilings change. Either way it should be clear: here’s your threshold between the old and new.”
Thresholds are everything in heritage work. A glazed link that lightly touches an original wall; a subtle shift in floor level; a tucked roofline that defers to the existing form. These gestures allow the original fabric to breathe while giving the new intervention its own voice. They also align with the principles that guide councils and heritage advisors, where the interface between old and new must be handled sensitively and legibly.
For architects and designers submitting drawings for consent, early and open dialogue with council is crucial. Sarah notes that support is often forthcoming when an approach is thoughtful and well articulated. The aim is not to “bowl along blindly” but to build understanding between parties from the outset, demonstrating how the heritage fabric will be protected and celebrated, long before submitting plans for consideration.
“I very much think about heritage as connecting to sustainability,” Sarah says. “The cheap, poor-quality building that isn’t fit for purpose or doesn’t perform well will not have a long life.”
In this way, restoration becomes an act of stewardship. Retaining embodied carbon, upgrading performance and ensuring a building can serve another century is as much an environmental decision as an aesthetic one.
Yet performance does not happen by accident. Services must be woven carefully into the fabric of an older home, because as homes transition toward electric systems and heat pumps, plant and infrastructure grow in scale. Planning for them from the beginning avoids awkward retrofits that compromise both heritage detailing and daily comfort.
In Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, Selbourne is a study in balance, a grand Victorian mansion reimagined for modern family life by Bryant Alsop.
A conversation with the street
But what if you’re building a new home in a heritage streetscape? Should you replicate or reinterpret? Here, Richard says the question shifts from imitation to conversation.
“It’s a conversation with the street: if the streetscape is lined with picket fences don't try to do something the same, instead, pick up the scale or materials in a contemporary way, tying in the house beyond that heritage language.”
Rhythm, scale, rooflines and window proportions all matter. The result should feel considered and empathetic, never as though it has landed abruptly from elsewhere.
Landscape is part of this dialogue. How a house sits within its site, how one approaches it from the street, how gardens will mature over decades all shape the experience of heritage. Good design anticipates growth and change, but also understands the people who will inhabit it. There is little value in crafting an intricate garden or demanding material palette if it does not suit the owner’s appetite for maintenance or their lifestyle.
Finally, whether building new within a heritage streetscape or renovating an existing character home, Sarah says it’s crucial to get the right team to realise your vision. Heritage renovation demands a builder experienced in its many nuances.
“You can have a fantastic builder but if they're not experienced in that heritage space, with that level of budget, and with that type of work, it can lead to problems down the track. Get the right horse for the right race.”
Finally, whether building new within a heritage streetscape or renovating an existing character home, Sarah says it’s crucial to get the right team to realise your vision. Heritage renovation demands a builder experienced in its many nuances.
“You can have a fantastic builder but if they're not experienced in that heritage space, with that level of budget, and with that type of work, it can lead to problems down the track. Get the right horse for the right race.”
