School House at Wesley Place in Melbourne

SELECTED PROJECT / 03

School HouseWesley Place.

Heritage retained. Contemporary performance introduced. Intervention kept deliberately quiet.

Wesley Place / Melbourne

THE PROJECT

Respecting what exists.
Preparing it for what comes next.

School House sits within Melbourne's Wesley Place precinct, where significant heritage architecture meets the contemporary city around it.

The completed work is defined by restraint: original character remains the focus, while new finishes, circulation, services and contemporary interventions sit carefully within the historic fabric.

LocationWesley Place
Melbourne

SectorHeritage
Refurbishment

CharacterHeritage-led
Intervention

ApproachRetain +
Upgrade

School House heritage building within the contemporary Wesley Place precinct

Heritage architecture / contemporary contextWesley Place

Gothic heritage facade and leadlight windows at School House

Original character retained01

School House courtyard and heritage facade

Courtyard / heritage context02

HERITAGE / INTERVENTION

The old and the new,
without competing.

The interior allows the building's original proportions, pointed windows, timber structure and historic details to remain legible. Contemporary elements are deliberately simple, creating a clear distinction without overpowering the heritage architecture.

Heritage fabric retainedRestored timber flooring Contemporary joineryIntegrated building services New circulation elementsGlazed interventions Architectural lightingDetailed finishes

Restored School House hall with exposed heritage timber structure

Restored hall / exposed timber structure03

Restored School House interior with timber floor and heritage masonry

Material restoration04

Long interior view through the restored School House

Light / proportion / retained fabric05

School House hall showing restored timber structural frames

HERITAGE / CRAFT / DETAIL

Let the building
speak first.

CONTEMPORARY LAYER

New interventions,
kept deliberately quiet.

Black-framed glazing, new vertical circulation, integrated services and purpose-built joinery establish a contemporary layer against the restored building. Their restrained material language helps preserve the visual hierarchy of the original architecture.

The result is not an attempt to make new work look old. It is a measured relationship between retained heritage character and the performance expected of a contemporary building.