The hard work’s been done for you at this rugged Melbourne property, which revives an old Carlton warehouse as a contemporary family home with a secret courtyard garden.

Fitzroy practice Kennedy Nolan masterminded the factory’s adaptive reuse, building the house within the ruined, patinated walls of the old warehouse. Living spaces are arranged in a spiralling organisation, unfolding both internally and externally in a vertical circulation that culminates with the top floor living area. This open space peers out across the neighbourhood via its floor to ceiling glass and balcony.

Textures and glimpses of the old building’s structure add drama to the new living spaces, set over three levels and serviced by a lift and staircase. These include three bedrooms on the ground and first floor, as well as a music room.

Each floor also has a deck and terrace – the most spectacular of which is the walled garden, crowned by the skeleton of the old factory roof.

With a guide price of 4m-4.4m AUD, 20-22 Pitt Street will be auctioned by Nelson Alexander on 22 May 2021. Take a peek inside the Melbourne property before it goes under the hammer.

This astonishing Spanish church conversion sets a new bar for adaptive reuse