Porter Architects has transformed an early 20th-century home in Ballarat, Australia, into the Golden Point House. Designed in 2024, the project retains the original front façade and internal rooms, now serving as bedrooms and a kids’ area.

Original Façade and Internal Rooms
The Golden Point House is located in the inner-city suburb of Golden Point. The broad context encompasses a diverse mix of small/large sized residential properties from the 19th century to contemporary. The house is located on a busy tree lined thoroughfare with the city centre at arm?s reach.

The existing house was built approximately early 20th century and was listed under a local council heritage overlay. The house had minimal alterations over its journey and was in a fairly original state when the project was initiated. The front façade and internal rooms retained much of its original charm. The only real change was the kitchen area which was updated in the 1980s.
Family Living Requirements
The client brief included the need to retain the front façade and front rooms of the house with the rear of the project to be changed to meet the family living requirements. Therefore, the front existing area of the house was zoned as the bedroom/kids area with a new north lit living area to the rear, a double garage for rear lane access and a music studio.

The new living area pavilion references the existing area fabric with the use of bricks, timber claddings and charcoal timber claddings. The new...