LDS II Residence, Caulfield North

Rather than starting from scratch, Robert Davidov, founder and principal of Davidov Architects, exercised restraint by retaining the existing structures. The goal was to accommodate a large family without significantly increasing the home's footprint. By reclaiming a "forgotten space" between the two original structures, the team created a new central courtyard, transforming a once dark and confined interior into a series of open, light-filled spaces.

"The key priorities in merging the two houses was to determine if the core brief... could all be accommodated without adding any additional floor area," Davidov explains. "The footprint hardly changed except for really the creation of these two links that created a walled courtyard in the centre of the home."

The home’s identity is anchored by a disciplined selection of materials. The team focused on a core palette of stone, oak, and brass—that could be manipulated in different ways to create a sense of continuity. This language was informed by the home's 1960s heritage.

"There were a few key elements that we really wanted to retain, the parquetry floors, the beautiful Jupiter granite," says Davidov. Because the original granite was no longer available, the team "paid tribute to that by using a selection of different pink and red marbles."

The use of brass serves as a consistent thread throughout the house, appearing on the entry gate, the front door, and the bar. Davidov notes that the team intentionally repeated these motifs at various touch points, allowing the materials to age and patina naturally. "We never like to use more materials than we need to," he adds. "So really the key was using a few materials that we knew we could manipulate in several ways and repeat those motifs throughout the home."

Selecting Sun Shading

With the home’s east-west orientation, controlling natural light was a key consideration. Robert Davidov sought a shading solution that felt integrated with the architecture. This led to a collaboration with Shade Factor to incorporate Warema venetian blinds in a bespoke internal application.

While Warema external venetian blinds are typically used externally to manage solar heat gain and glare, the system’s architectural qualities, including its scale, materiality and precision, aligned with the design intent of LDS II Residence. “I was excited about being able to use the Warema venetians in this project,” Davidov says. “The colour, the scale are things that allowed them in this instance to really blend and enhance the architecture.”

For this application, Shade Factor customised the orientation of the slats and adjusted the rotation mechanism to suit the desired internal experience. Unlike a typical external installation, where the slats are oriented to minimise direct sunlight, the blinds were configured to allow controlled natural light into the home while creating dynamic patterns of shadow throughout the interiors.

“Once the decision to go with the Warema venetians was made, it was good to work with Shade Factor in ways that enabled us to take a product which is typically for external use and bring it internally,” Davidov reflects.

The result is a shading solution that combines the performance characteristics of Warema with the refined atmosphere of the residence, allowing light to become an active element of the architecture alongside the home’s stone, timber and brass details.