Oxford.

Residential conversion of a warehouse in the former Foy & Gibson textile mills in the heritage precinct of Collingwood.

The challenge faced by this proposal was to maintain the feeling of the original warehouse space with its 6-metre ceilings and exposed steelwork while including an upper floor containing 2 bedrooms and a master bathroom. The open plan layout was also to be able to be sub-divided to allow privacy in the bedrooms.

The solution was to insert a split mezzanine floor with exposed joists and voids located over the ground floor kitchen and lounge areas. The two full-height spaces allow natural light to spill into the lower spaces from the large sash windows on Oxford Street and the courtyard/carpark to the south. Access to the courtyard is off the mezzanine bridge via bi-folding doors. The timber linings continue from the internal space to the outside and serve to marry the internal and external spaces. The courtyard is a utility space for carpark, storage and entertaining and opens to the sky with an operable roof.