Guo Yik Ng

This DHV house at reservoir is a single storey detached house built in the 1996 at the northeast area in the suburb of North Melbourne. This is a 5 Bedroom house with a corridor in the middle of the house, open shared space faces the east, and the bedrooms faces the west. The construction detail of the house is brick veneer followed by the concrete tiles on the gabled roof. The purpose of this reconfiguration project is to ensure the house compliance with the SDA standards and able to fit in 3 occupants and one carer in the same house at the same time improving the living amenity to the existing house.

"Different house strategies that were applied in this reconfiguration are accessible + protected, dual entry, bedroom +, multiple living, corridor +, versatile room, storage + walk through laundry and linear kitchen. These strategies helped to improve the overall living quality of the occupants in the house."

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One of the key limitations of the existing house is its small size house plan relative to the number of occupants in the house. There is only two bathrooms shared among all the occupants in the house. Bathrooms and circulation throughout the house are small and difficult for wheelchair to maneuver and access to all parts of the house. The house also have a lack of engagement with the street and the bedroom does not connect with any outdoor space.

The opportunities of the house are creating a connectivity between the street and the main entrance by adding a covered canopy walkway for better pickup and drop-off access. All bedrooms are connected to its own individual bathrooms and have a private outdoor courtyard that connects to the outdoor space. Size of the bathrooms and circulation space were enlarged for better wheelchair access around the house. A new entry living space is added to the front of the house as a space to wait for pickup. Lastly, the main circulation corridor now acts as a buffer zone that separate open shared spaces and private space which gives more privacy to the occupants in their bedroom.