3
22
THE RETURN OF RADIANCE
Collingwood Residence, Victoria
This conversion of a modest, inner-city church in Melbourne’s Collingwood produces a stellar
surprise. The suburb’s revival retains its dense grit and grain of housing, light industry and retail.
The discovery of a church for sale a few years ago in a narrow, one-way street was an opportunity
for owner/architect Ilana Kister to imagine a family home and incorporate a former place of worship.
Kister’s private oasis is timeless and yet unmistakably of its time. Contrasting the 1870s heritage
church, her architecture is urban renewal presented with verve and panache. Central to the
achievement is Viridian’s EnergyTech™ performance glazing as ‘invisible’ element to rescue the
old and energise the new. High perimeter walls conceal an inner-sanctum that upon entry reveals
a magical contrast of stone, glass, greenery and water. A concrete canopy performs as floating
garden, shade device and sculptural element. This slender concrete arc generates its very own
centrifugal design force allowing glazing to provide a fluent interplay of light, shade and space.
CLICK TO VISIT
THE COLLINGWOOD
RESIDENCE
CLICK TO HEAR
VIRIDIAN’S CHRIS MURRAY
IN CONVERSATION