“This is a house for living without concern for the
niceties of formal entertainment or a preciousness
about impressing visitors or pretentiousness.”
Shane Thompson
On a semi-rural site in a lush valley in upper Brookfield just west of Brisbane, this house is a response to the particular and immediate landscape views. Sited to maximise aspect and prospect, its form and character are derived from the rural tradition of the pragmatic utilitarian buildings of the area, where simple timber structures, clad in battens or timber slabs with openings to serve particular functional needs are part of that local vernacular.
The clients had already lived in an old 1940’s farmhouse on the property for many years and have an intimate understanding and love of the landscape, its smells, sights and sounds, it’s light and rhythm. This familiarity along with an extended dialogue about how they wanted to live here were identified in the development of the design.
Consequently, the house is a moment in thelandscape, where the larger scale space and experience pass through its fabric. The house is anchored to the site with masonry terraces that emerge from the sloping ground. These terraces form the ground planes internally and externally upon, which a lightweight timber structure provides varying levels of exposure.
The house is a long linear form which emerges from the ground as a single storey at the north west of the site and gently rises up to the south east to 3 storeys and pivots toward a specific long view, where a massive 2 storey high window to the master bedroom celebrates that termination.
Spaces are arranged along the length of the house, where the central spaces form the principle more open and generous living areas, and lead to the more private and hermit-like spaces of; the children’s’ bedrooms to the north west and the parents’ bedroom to the south east.
A lower level at the south east accommodates a guest room, hobby room and garage, while a mezzanine study and sitting room with ‘Juliet’balcony float in the higher roof spaces to the South East.
Broad terraces for night time / day time and summer / winter outdoor living expand the house into the landscape to the North East and South West where a large existing Poinciana tree provides shade, framed views and welcoming entry experience.
Materials and tectonics are simple and robust with wet dash rendered masonry walls, timber cladding, timber and aluminium window joinery, concrete floors, plasterboard walls, simple stained LVL and ply ceilings, and timber and concrete joinery.
Our clients intend to live here for a long time and the house is subsequent to their notions of a comfortable, welcoming place and a dialogue with the landscape.
↧