Amidst the affluent suburb of Hampton, Melbourne, barely even a hop, skip and a jump from the beach, you’ll find Bolton Avenue. Architecturally speaking, its streetscape is a vernacular hodge-podge. Heritage cottages, barely visible behind high hedges, have neoclassical neighbours, across from McMansions, next to contemporary boxes. Each house is entirely of its own, free to be unapologetically itself. Alleviated of any pressure to alter appearances in order to fit in, Martin Friedrich Architects’ contribution to Bolton Avenue has a bold presence of contemporary grandeur.
Completed in 2019, Bolton House by Martin Friedrich Architects is one of the newest kids on the block, and proud of it. Heralding the tenacity and tact of modernist architecture seemingly lost on almost every other design movement, Bolton House is progressive in design as well as character – yet not devoid of sentimental expression.
Solid European oak floorboards from Tongue n Groove set the stage for life with a material quality and timeless aesthetic that goes unparalleled.
There is a chivalry to Martin Friedrich Architects’ design, first noticed in the grand porte-cochere, supported by large stone columns, that gallantly greets visitors. This is a strong experience whether arriving by vehicle on the wrap around driveway or by foot admiring the double storey glazed entry beyond. An eye-catching sculptural spiral staircase further adds to the grandeur while leading the way to the four bedrooms and pool views to be enjoyed on the first floor.
The sophisticated interior uses a contrasting colour palette of whites and dark grey tones mixed with coloured accents from the artworks and objects on display. Underfoot, solid engineered European oak floorboards from Tongue n Groove set the stage for life in Bolton House with a material quality and timeless aesthetic that goes unparalleled. Martin Friedrich Architects’ choice of Tongue n Groove’s Eterno Grande format floorboards in Otta with wire-brushed finish is apt, all the while refreshingly unpretentious, amidst Bolton House’s highly polished interiors.
In the absence of a cohesive residential vernacular to note among them, Bolton House by Martin Friedrich Architects connects with its neighbours by seeing their proudly diverse articulations of elegance, and raising the bar with its own.
Martin Friedrich Architects
mf-arch.com.au
Tongue n Groove
tngflooring.com.au
Photography by Derek Swalwell
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