Wattle Avenue House Mildura
architecture
Minifie van Schaik
07.07.12
In the rural township of Mildura, architects Minifie van Schaik have turned what was a bog-standard, brick veneer bungalow into a playful celebration of fashion, food and family.
Designed for Australian celebrity chef Stefano de Pieri and family, while the previous house was unremarkable for its standard-issue, suburban architecture, the new design is anything but, boasting a plethora of bespoke, non-standard features. In the new internal courtyard, multi-hued bricks have been used to create an abstract pattern that references both nearby Lake Mungo and the eccentric colours and immaculate detail of a Paul Smith shirt. Meanwhile, visitors to the house are confronted at the entrance with a geometric pattern that gives a strong hint something more than your average suburban idyll lies behind the front door.
Wattle Avenue House was awarded an Australian Institute of Architects award for Residential Alterations and Extensions in June 2012.