Not your typical house on a hill.
If we were going to build here, it couldn’t be a shiny, polished house. The site was exposed on the edge of a steep hill just outside Launceston, with 360° views overlooking the North Esk River beyond. The farming land had belonged to one of the owner's parents before she and her husband bought it for their growing family. The easy option would have been to build on the flat. But from our first site inspection, habitation worn away by frequent visits hinted at the spot on which they wanted to set up camp. Arguably, it was the most challenging area. But it was worth it.
CLIENT
Private
IMAGES
Anjie Blair
LAND OF
Stoney Creek Nation
COLLABORATORS
D1 Consulting Engineers
Rebecca Green & Associates
Green Building Surveying
Wayne Gorman ‘ENERGYMAN’
Tasman Geotechnics
Cohen & Associates
AWARDS
During design, we made a conscious effort to create spaces that talked to one another. As a result, flexible use of space would suit this growing family without the need for a big footprint.
The garage isn’t just a place to park a car. It opens up at the front and back, connecting to the main living area and courtyard as a flowing play and living space. The hallway became a gallery space for the family's artwork, and space for them to be creative flows into the lower deck and barbeque area.
Flexible spaces.
A landscape object.
As the house is in such a visible spot, we didn’t want the dwelling to glisten at odds with the landscape. A raw, rough sawn, spotted gum timber cladding was chunky enough to take the westerly prevailing wind punches. Pre-weathered in a way, it was ready to patina gracefully.
We disguised elements usually associated with a house - like the windows on the west wing - to create an unconventional facade that blurs the structure’s scale from a distance. Given it doesn’t look like a conventional house on the hill but more like the broad side of a barn, it sits comfortably in the rural farmland context. The building doesn’t sit too high, with the courtyard at natural ground level, and the decking close enough to the ground to avoid the need for any balustrade.
We kept all of our materials quite simple and raw, with brick anchoring the building, and recessive cutaway entry points painted black to contrast with the otherwise sheer timber.
The house has a long drive to its entry, giving visitors plenty of opportunities to take in the landscape as they approach. There’s no competing with valley views like this, so we kept the house entry understated. The staggering landscape still commands centre-stage.
Without any shelter from neighbouring buildings, the site was exposed on all sides. To tackle this, we came up with the idea for the building itself to act as a windbreak. Enclosed, private spaces like the bedrooms block the prevailing winds, while a north-facing protected outdoor space captures the sun throughout the day. With the building wrapped around this courtyard, we managed to make the most of the views, too.
Sheltered from the elements.
