A House from Another House is a minimal home located in Melbourne, Australia, designed by James Bowman Fletcher. The project begins not with demolition but with a profound respect for constraints – most notably a linear corridor that could not be changed. This limitation becomes the project’s strength, a spine from which a remarkable reimagining of domestic space unfolds.
At the heart of Fletcher’s intervention lies an ingenious “two-room sink,” accessible from both toilet and shower rooms through sliding panels. This seemingly simple element transcends mere functionality, becoming a meditation on the fluid boundaries of private and shared space in contemporary living. The shower and toilet rooms, each capable of accommodating four or more people, challenge our assumptions about the strictly individual nature of these typically intimate spaces.
The project’s most compelling innovation emerges in its furniture solutions. In the larger rear room, a hybrid bench-table demonstrates Fletcher’s mastery of adaptable design. This square-topped element, adjustable from 750mm to 900mm in height, works in concert with six chair-like objects whose upholstered surfaces can be positioned at either 500mm or 750mm. These pieces perform a kind of domestic choreography, transforming from chairs to stools, from benches to desks, their functions as fluid as contemporary life itself.
Materials speak in whispers rather than shouts: timber laminated into panels and subtly tinted; stainless steel plate offering quiet reflection; grey ceramic tiles providing visual calm. The palette is deliberately restrained – off-white paint, clear anodized aluminum, black and grey silicone – allowing the space’s inherent flexibility to take center stage.
Fletcher’s approach to storage further dissolves conventional room designations. Four wardrobe-like objects distributed throughout the house resist fixed categorization, their functions determined by use rather than location. This strategy suggests a future where domestic spaces are defined not by traditional labels but by the ever-changing patterns of their inhabitants’ lives.
