Ellice Street House

Nestled within a narrow, cascading site in Wellington’s character suburb of Mt Victoria sits the Ellice Street House. Studio Pacific was commissioned to renovate the existing pre-1900s two-storey villa and add a contemporary living pavilion that maximises connection with the outdoor space and leafy garden beyond.

The renovation included a reconfiguration of the original house to take advantage of the long and sloping site, balancing a desire for contemporary space with the heritage fabric of the original structure. The resulting design creates a series of dynamic spaces that transition between old and new, cascading from street level into the garden.

New interventions with the original house are clad in black stained timber that contrasts with the white painted rusticated weatherboards of the existing villa. A large five-metre-tall natural oak screen borders the new staircase in the heart of the living pavilion addition. The black stained timber from the exterior is carried through into the interiors to create a well-considered and limited colour palette that harmoniously fuses the architectural elements together.