POLE POSITION

A compact Melbourne house with a small footprint is big on efficiency and experimentation

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One neighbour refers to Northcote House as the 'opera' one. Accessed from an unassuming laneway in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote, it couldn't be more different - in style, size, situation to Australia's more famous opera building, nearly 900km away in Sydney. Perhaps the home's cantilevered, timber-strutted awning initiated the analogy - a grand gesture on a pint-sized block behind a row of shops.

Designed by architects David Leggett and Paul Loh as their own home, the house was years in the making and has received numerous accolades since its completion earlier this year, including an award from the Australian Institute of Architects. The couple spent considerable time prototyping materials for their build from a warehouse in the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of Preston, which is also the main base for their studio, LLDS. Both had studied and worked in London, but knew there was a 'project' waiting for them in Melbourne on their return. That project was building a new two-storey house on a 100 sq m plot that had previously been used as a car parking space. And as the duo's Preston warehouse is dedicated to creating CNC materials, so their new house, shared with miniature schnauzer Merlin Junior, was always going to be a testing ground for experimentation.