Christopher Elliott Design designed the refurbishment of the Marlton House at St Michael’s Grammar School in Melbourne, Austrailia.

Following on from our successful work with Hewison House, the main administration building at St Michael’s Grammar School, we were given the opportunity to design the refurbishment of Marlton House; the inaugural school building, circa 1895.

After consultation with the teachers and students, we identified several key directives for the design. One of those, resulting in discussions with the students, was the desire to make the classrooms feel connected to the landscape. Typically, heritage buildings have small openings and apertures allowing limited natural light and can feel disconnected with their external environment. Such was the case with Marlton House. However, we sought to evoke a sense of nature with a palette of green hues, and a custom-designed carpet motive; inspired by leaf debris found in the forest. Our approach was similar to our previous work with Hewison House. In that, the building was full of character, but we took a more playful approach in keeping with a youthful learning environment. The joinery design was born from the functional need for more storage and the aesthetic drive for a dramatic element; to ground spaces. We choose to include a whimsical, random element of a bold cobalt blue arch; symbolic of the school’s embracive attitude for individuality. A standout feature, suggesting it’s okay to be different.

Architect: Christopher Elliott Design
Design Team: Christopher Elliott, Sarah Chesterfield, Will Harrington
Builder: Long Contracting
Painter: Mattioli
Carpet Supplier: RC+D
Photography: Jack Lovel