FREEHAND PROJECTS

This double townhouse project in Ocean Grove replaced a single house on a tight corner block.
We managed to pack plenty of amenity into their modest footprint including great solar access, landscape views and excellent natural cross ventilation.
The beachy palette of silvertop ash cladding, hardwood battens and raw concrete masonry is really starting to weather in well and adds a welcoming and textured quality to the streetscape.

Builder: Cromer Builders
Photographer: Nic Stephens Photography

Currently working on this exciting new project for a family home by the beach in Ocean Grove.
Experimenting in Sketchup with some elemental forms that work with the sloping site to create a sense of secluded shelter within a sunny north facing backyard.
Located just back from the dunes, the owners will be able to smell the salt and almost feel the waves from the rooftop entertaining deck.

These beauties are stacked and ready to go at our latest Ocean Grove project. Previously used as garden pavers, the original owner of the house salvaged them from old houses in Geelong in the 1970’s and painstakingly cleaned them all by hand, so it’s only fair that we respect the effort and incorporate them into the new design.
These will become an angled 2-storey block that anchors the new addition and leads out into the north facing garden.

We spent a good part of the 1990’s and 2000’s designing some of the best known restaurants and bars in Melbourne, but it’s great to be able to complete a job in our own patch with Little Raaja in Ocean Grove.
We tried to pack a lot into the intimate space, with a selection of materials and colours that owe something to the modernist architecture of India in the 50’s and 60’s as well as creating a warm and friendly interior that helps make for a memorable meal.
It’s hard to pick a favourite, but we love the chicken biryani and the some of the best garlic naan this side of Hyderabad!
Photographer: Steph McGlenchy