RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECT — STONNINGTON
Architect South Yarra
South Yarra is a layered suburb. Single-fronted terraces a hundred years old sitting beside considered contemporary homes, the Botanic Gardens edge, the streets off Domain Road, the city walking distance away. People live here because they want to be in the centre of things, and their homes need to support that life — generous when it counts, intimate when it doesn't, and connected to garden where the site allows.
Zen Architects has worked across South Yarra and Melbourne's inner south for over 30 years. We design terrace renovations, considered rear extensions, whole-of-home transformations and custom new homes for clients who want their home to keep up with how they live, without losing what made it worth buying in the first place.
A SOUTH YARRA PROJECT
Old hallway, new home.
Project Nymph began as a single-fronted Victorian terrace in the Botanic Gardens precinct. The original hallway was untouched — black-and-white tile floor, plaster arch, cornices intact. Behind it, the brief was to bring the qualities of the surrounding gardens into the living areas of the house without erasing the original terrace.
The rear opens to the full width of the site through full-height north-facing glazing. Slate paving, a timber pergola overhead, the garden continuing visually inside. Walking through the arch, you arrive at a different kind of home — one that knows exactly where it came from and exactly where it is going.
PROJECT SHOWN: Project Nymph, South Yarra — a single-fronted Victorian terrace renovated and extended. Original hallway and arch preserved intact. New rear opens to the full width of the site through full-height north-facing glazing, slate paving, and a timber pergola.
Terrace Renovations and Extensions
South Yarra's single and double-fronted terraces reward careful, inventive design. We extend them to the rear and upward in ways that resolve front to back.
Whole-of-Home Transformations
For terraces and homes that need more than an extension. We reconfigure the entire home around how you want to live in it now.
Custom New Homes
For cleared sites or complete rebuilds. Designed from first principles around your block and your brief.
A private conversation with one of our senior architects about your South Yarra property and what it could become.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions worth answering.
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Yes, extensively. South Yarra sits within the City of Stonnington and we have worked through its planning controls for decades. Heritage and neighbourhood character overlays are common across South Yarra, particularly in the Botanic Gardens precinct, the streets off Domain Road, and the older terrace blocks. Stonnington's heritage framework is rigorous, and we treat it as a design discipline rather than an obstacle. We bring our clients through the approval process with realistic timelines from the outset.
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Most South Yarra terraces have more potential than their owners realise, even on narrow sites. The key is understanding the site's specific orientation, the planning controls that apply, and how the existing structure can be worked with rather than fought against. A good single-fronted terrace can become a generous family home without sacrificing the original streetscape. Project Nymph is one example. We recommend starting with a design consultation to explore what your specific property allows.
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Carefully, and with a clear point of view. There is no universal right answer. Sometimes the right move is a seamless transition, sometimes a deliberate honest contrast between old and new. What we do not do is compromise either side. The original terrace in Project Nymph retains its Victorian hallway, arch and cornices entirely. The new work makes no attempt to imitate it. Both sides are stronger for the distinction.
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Often yes, and sometimes the right move is to redesign the relationship between the home and the garden so that both feel larger. Narrow terrace sites reward careful site planning — the right placement of glazing, courtyards and apertures can bring a small garden into living areas in a way that makes the whole house feel more generous. We approach every terrace project with the garden as part of the brief, not an afterthought.
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Often clients who have owned a terrace for years and are finally ready to do it properly. Sometimes professionals or empty-nesters buying into the suburb specifically to renovate or rebuild. What they share is a clear sense of how they want to live and an appreciation for design that goes beyond the standard. They are not in a rush. They want the right outcome, and they understand that the right architect makes that possible.
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