Kister Architects

11th October 2020

Sunday Herald Sun top 50 homes.

We are thrilled to find our Courtyard house and church conversion at #6 in the list for Top 50 Homes!

Victoria’s most incredible homes have been revealed in a two-day special, compiled by the Herald Sun’s real estate experts.

12th September 2020

Sneak Peek

An exciting new collaboration with TinyRoomCo is starting to take shape.

PUBLISHED 31 AUGUST, 2020

Bringing nature into Post-Covid homes

What a timely article.

Spending copious amounts of time at home really highlights how much we all crave nature and natural light.

As a designer I understand the importance of the effects your environment has on your health and wellbeing.

PUBLISHED 6 AUGUST, 2020

‘Sense of responsibility’: What it’s like to own an iconic Melbourne home

Reading this article in the Domain we were reminded of the privilege we had working on an iconic Melbourne building. It’s exciting to be able to re-invent and breathe new life into an old decommissioned church building, creating a beautiful home and fabulous even space. https://www.instagram.com/st_saviours/

PUBLISHED 22ND MAY 2020

HABITUS LIVING

10 Awe inspiring homes of modern Australian Architects

When architects design for themselves, creativity knows no bounds. These ten architects own houses showcase profound design tenacity and resolve.

Let’s face it… we’re all a little nosey at heart. There is something perennially intriguing about the domestic lives of others and the houses that contain them. Most especially, when those lives and homes belong to those in whom we perceive a certain je ne sais quoi of someone who has mastered the art of living well.

Naturally, architects own houses and the designers inside (and behind) them fall into this category. If the art of living well has been mastered by anyone, surely it’s those who have made a career designing spaces for living. Not to mention, there’s the added curiosity that comes along with the notion of what might come from an architect given carte blanche.

It goes without saying that, of all the projects that have graced the pages of Habitus and Habitus Living over the years, some of the most outstanding have been those of architects own houses. Whether it be for their formidable sense of place; their elegant resolve of commonplace problems; or the new facets of their residents’ that they reveal, these ten modern Australian architects own houses are as magnificent today as the day they were designed.

Ilana Kister of Kister Architects has taken a dilapidated, inner city church and turned it into her studio’s headquarters; seamlessly connected to the home she shares with her three young daughters.

On a small urban backstreet on the fringe of one of Melbourne’s most creative precincts, a disused bluestone church cuts a striking profile. Only a discreet timber entry hints at the contemporary home within.

Inside, a concrete path slopes upwards to an impressive courtyard, with restrained sculptural landscaping creating an almost futuristic elegance. An invitingly lengthy pool spans the boundary of the property, while curved walls and glass meet the old church’s pillar arches in a dramatic convergence of architectural styles.

“When people come over, I think there is a bit of curiosity and excitement… It is definitely an unusual house,” admits owner and architect, Ilana Kister.

Read the full story in Habitus #36, the Nourish issue, out 12 June.

PUBLISHED 9 OCTOBER, 2019

A Remarkable Local Collaboration – Nau 2019 Collection Shoot

Check out an exciting collaboration project in the Courtyard house in Collingwood. We just love the way the furniture sits in the space.

PUBLISHED 29 August 2017

Mother-of-three transforms a crumbling 19th century church in the heart of Melbourne into a luxury four-bedroom family home worth $6 MILLION

Architect Ilana Kister created the home of her dreams from an old church.

The cutting edge creative project has been shortlist for a 2017 Houses Award.

The visionary inner city sanctuary took more than three years to complete.

The Collingwood church has been 'reimagined' as a contemporary living space.

PUBLISHED 12 July 2017

Next to godliness: Former church conversion set to raise the bar in Collingwood

The house architect Ilana Kister designed for her partner and her three young daughters is – I’d swear on a stack of bibles – the most anomalous residence in one of Melbourne’s oldest suburbs.