Koonoona

Conservation of an early vernacular building

Engaging with history

On the Mornington Peninsula at Merricks North is a small cottage called Koonoona, considered a building of state significance, architecturally and historically. Koonoona was built by John Caldwell on land he obtained during the Selection era, when crown land could be ‘selected’ before it was surveyed. In a project that evolved over a considerable period of time, and called upon our heritage consultants and conservation and design architects, a series of liveable spaces has been created from a challenging historic structure which is also a much loved holiday house.

Image © Sarah Anderson

Our brief

The earliest parts of the cottage are thought to date from around 1868. The four central rooms were constructed using pole frames faced inside and out with horizontally-laid sapling laths packed with mud. Extensions had been added in the early twentieth century to supplement the four small central rooms, and several outbuildings constructed to increase the accommodation. Over the years, the ground level around the cottage had increased, contributing to the progressive decay of the timber in the walls and there was evidence of extensive termite activity. In the front wall, with its central front door, all the poles had rotted out at ground level, resulting in the wall subsiding. The structural collapse intiated not only structural remediation, but a full process of conservation and refurbishment.

Details

Date

2012 - 2014

Status

Completed

Location

Mornington Peninsula/Boon Wurrung

Traditional Owners

Bunurong people

Image © Sarah Anderson

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Image © Sarah Anderson

Our response

Extensive structural remediation and conservation works have been necessary, particularly to the pole-framed sapling and mud walls. The original Morewood & Rogers metal roof tiles have been reproduced especially for the project. Internally, the floors have been reinstated and the kitchen refurbished. One of the later wings has been reconstructed.

Underpinning a wattle and daub structure is an act of quiet conviction—a slow and deliberate gesture grounded in the belief that the value of heritage resides not only in appearance or utility, but in the frailty of the original fabric itself. Its fragility does not diminish its worth; rather, it amplifies its presence, rendering the tactile memory of hand-mixed earth and woven timber more immediate, more human. In restoring what is easily lost, one affirms that the ephemeral, too, deserves reverence.

KAI CHEN, DIRECTOR AND FOUNDING PRINCIPAL

Image © Sarah Anderson

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Outbuilding additions

The two small outbuildings have been replaced with new studio accommodation, built in the vernacular style and meeting bushfire rating BAL-29 regulations. The pair are identical but mirrored in plan, each with a verandah facing a view. To help the studios feel like living rooms, not just bedrooms, their bathrooms have 'secret' doors.

Kai Chen
Founding Principal & Director

kchen@lovellchen.com.au | 0420 301 290Contact Kai Chen