This renovation in a bay-side suburb of Melbourne seeks to exploit and subvert the increasingly odd requirements of Local Government Planning regulations. In this case the heritage overlay on the existing Edwardian cottage dictated that any addition should be visible from the street and should fit into a volume prescribed by a ‘5degree projection from the lowest point on the front roof’. Embracing the spirit of this restriction we discovered that in fact the 5degree inclination worked much better in plan allowing the upper storey addition to pull away from the adjoining neighbour and open towards a new backyard and a fine existing tree. As such the project is created through a volume defined by the limits of the legislation, not due to optimisation but through embrace and critique of the constraints it determines. The front part of the house is retained with a bathroom/laundry inserted in a former bedroom. A new polished plaster curved wall serves to ease the space into the new part of the dwelling; a large open plan living area and kitchen that also rises in section up to the tree and the south light. A recycled jarrah staircase replicates the curve as it climbs to the master bedroom and study above and lands with a view to the tree’s canopy. The 5degree raking west wall of the second level creates a long dynamic space emphasised by an extended horizontal slot window, that drags the occupant to a private deck. Externally the building references a beach aesthetic with timber cladding but this has been refined with a black stain to contrast the oiled timber doors and windows, an idea that the old Edwardian has relaxed her history at the beach.