Carcassonne House, Melbourne, Victoria property

Carcassonne House in Melbourne

17 August 2026

Architects: FMD Architects

Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Photos: Dianna Snape

Set in Melbourne’s leafy south-east, Carcassonne transforms a 1920s heritage-listed house—obscured by a post-war flat to its frontage—into a light-filled family residence. With no records of the original home’s character, the project presented a unique challenge—one that ultimately empowered the design to rethink the property’s spatial sequencing, redefine its programming, and strengthen its connection to the underutilised front and rear gardens.

The heritage home’s position along the northern boundary drove the design towards a stepped addition that houses kitchen, dining and living spaces, due north. Its articulated roofline maximises natural light penetration, accommodates an extensive solar array, and offers a hint of the life within.

Salvaged red brick from the site’s previous extension offers continuity between old and new, contrasted by prefabricated metal cladding that animates the addition’s interlocking roof forms. Though highly visible to the busy street, the addition’s solid form and robust materiality ensures privacy and security; a quality of ‘fortification.’

This narrative is emphasised by a newly designed entry inspired by the walled city of Carcassonne —the project’s namesake. A splayed brick wall and timber plank ‘drawbridge’ define a striking, triangulated gateway into the home, tempering exposure to the street.

A hit-and-miss brick wall extends to the south, concealing a generous bike store for the active family. Solid brickwork walls sail into the interior, framing views to the light-filled volume beyond.

Here, Tasmanian oak veneer envelopes the ceiling, with elevated sections punctuated with ribbon windows. A honed concrete slab offers effective thermal mass, supported by high-performance glazing, deep eaves and smaller openings for cross ventilation.

Skilfully positioned openings capture views across the public front garden and private rear garden and pool, connecting occupants with the landscape and enabling effective passive surveillance across the site. A triangulated daybed nestles within the dining space; an unexpected sanctuary that inspires imaginative uses, from picnics to children’s sleepovers.

The home’s historic portion contains a kids’ retreat, study and main bedroom suite, enhanced by reinstated openings, uncovered during the post-war flat’s demolition. These apertures cast natural light across the bedroom and provide access to a private porch, designed to gradually become shrouded in trellis-grown greenery. Upstairs, the kids’ bedrooms and play area sit within the home’s existing roof line.

The western bedroom opens onto an original, timber shingle-lined balcony. Opposite, the eastern bedroom sits above the new extension and provides a window seat with views of the pool and backyard below, each offering a captivating experience of the house and site.

Tendering amid rising construction costs, the architects and builder collaborated to rationalise materials, specifications and detailing. These value management efforts allowed Carcassonne to be delivered in a difficult construction environment, with little compromise visually or conceptually. The result is a sensitive response to place, supporting an active, 360-degree usage of the site.