House A

A house composed of a field of rooms which open and close in dialogue with a landscape.

Revitalised relationships have been created between the house and elements of its natural environment. Openings in the facade, at various scales, reset territorial boundaries creating diverse connections and dialogues between neighbouring buildings, landscapes and the people that occupy them.

The simple massing composed of simple materials focuses the viewer's’ attention onto the relationship of the house to its environment. The house at specific points, opens up, to create moments of porosity for landscapes to inhabit. At each of these openings different landscape conditions can be found that are unique responses to the orientation of each courtyard embracing the specific qualities of light, air and the proportion of space. These landscapes have an influence on the adjacent interior space. Interior spaces expand or contract in dialogue with the landscape harmoniously with functional needs.

The interior spaces are open, light filled and are detailed to limit distraction. Materiality is a detail often oversimplified or over complicated. A rough sawn timber used for the exterior reveals a native material quality often erased during manufacturing. This rough and protective boundary embraces the natural variation of the material. Moving through the house the material texture changes and volumes open up and collide with landscaped spaces that punctuate the plan. Opacity makes way for transparency, privacy for openness and inclusion.

Award Winner 2017 Victorian Architecture Awards Residential Architecture Houses - New.

Walter&Walter
Andrew Walter