Best of est | Inventive Australian Architects’ Homes

Architect Albert Mo spent over a decade refining the vision for this extension to his family’s 1950s mid-century home initially designed by Melbourne architect Peter McIntyre. He set out to balance architectural heritage with an experimental, contemporary approach to space, nature, and evolving family needs. The result? A home where daily life seamlessly interacts with the landscape—whether in the cantilevered lounge room within the canopy of a mature elm or at the dining table beside a micro courtyard garden.

Located in Melbourne’s Studley Park, a hub for modernist architecture, the design prioritises preservation. The original façade was restored, while the new extension remains discreetly hidden from the street, revealing itself only as you move deeper into the home. Built on a steep slope, the extension follows the structural footprint of the original post-war home, maintaining a proportional rhythm that integrates old and new with precision.

The home’s inventive spirit is embodied by its drawbridge, completed a year after move-in. “It took a willing aerospace engineer to do the math, a metal fabricator with a large appetite for risk, a trusting builder and of course, the architect to persevere,” Mo muses. “After 12 months of prototyping, it was still too heavy to lift—three more attempts finally made it operational.”

Designed for longevity, the home was transformed into an all-electric, highly insulated space powered by solar energy. Paired with native vegetation and durable, low-maintenance materials, Connected House is a testament to Mo’s deep understanding of the site, ensuring the home evolves with his family for generations to come.