Cydelia House Student Accommodation

The refurbishment and extension of Cydelia House was undertaken to provide high quality, accessible and contemporary post-graduate student accommodation within the university precinct in Carlton, Melbourne. fjcstudio undertook the project for the Cybec Foundation, a philanthropic organisation focussing on ‘encouraging academic excellence, assisting the less fortunate, supporting the arts and caring for the environment’. The project involved a sensitive heritage refurbishment and additions to two Victorian heritage-registered Carlton terrace houses to accommodate University of Melbourne scholarship students supported by the foundation. The project includes 20 bedrooms, 16 with en suites, some with kitchenettes and accommodation for live-in tutors. The bedrooms are generous in space, with natural light and ventilation. The project required new services throughout including the addition of sprinklers, all concealed within the heritage fabric. The terrace houses, while dilapidated, were structurally sound, with the remnants of existing finishes directing the design response. We worked closely with Heritage Victoria to achieve a result that, while sympathetic to the original design, clearly identified the additions as new and distinct from the old. Rendered walls, existing timber floors, beautiful blackbutt timber portals to frame new openings in walls, and terrazzo tiles to the new kitchen set the tone for a paint and furniture palette of saturated hues against cool white walls.

Replacement of all services, automation of new window fenestration and upgrade of IT and security systems were sensitively incorporated within the design. The shared communal kitchen, dining and living areas overlook a landscaped outdoor space, with outdoor decks, vegetable planters and enclosed bike facilities. The dining area is an infill addition to the buildings, sensitively connecting to the two formerly separate terraces, exposing brickwork internally, and using mechanically operated clerestory windows to ventilate and bring light deep into the terraces. Externally, natural stone, blackbutt timber, glass and copper provide a high quality, durable material palette, complementing the original historic fabric. The Drummond Street facade has been carefully restored, re-rendered and refurbished including the generous terrace balconies overlooking the street, establishing a vibrant new student hub for the university. A dedicated project team and client group have given new life to two beautiful buildings, seamlessly connected to provide beauty and delight as well as the functionality required for students now and in the future.