"A place to die"
A long, silver box sits on a former apple farm, cut into a slight slope and under a curved roof. Inside are treasures – visible and hidden. The visible artifacts indicate the clients’ diverse interests and travels. Hidden away is the clever and cost-saving technology that makes this house withstand icy winters and a bitter wind, conversely, hot, windy summers with little rain. The cold is one thing in this valley; the wind is the most important element to shelter. This silver box has two faces. One affords views down a long wind-swept valley; the other protects delicate endemic flora and vegetables and provides a warm haven for morning cups of tea.
The clients, now in their seventies, had a clear vision of what they wanted in the design. They approached local architect Misho Vasiljevich with confidence that comes from having worked with architects on their two previous homes in South Australia. Both clients are scientists, and although retired still pursue their respective interests and disciplines.
Misho has years of experience designing hangars and air terminals and is fascinated by the ‘architecture’ of planes. On this site, the wind tears around the southwestern end of the building and creates damaging turbulence down the face of the northern wall. To alleviate this turbulence, the roof extends outward on this corner to replicate an aerodynamic wingtip.
The resulting courtyard space on the north is wind-free and warm. This is assisted by the six Corten blades, which provide shelter, and privacy from the road above and generate small garden microclimates. They are a textured and coloured counterpoint to the dark grey of the corrugated roof, steel trusses, the pale silver of the aluminium door and window frames and the Mini Orb interior lining. Complementing the Corten's rusty tones (slowly emblazoned with the encouraged droppings from wrens and swallows) is the locally-sourced crushed brick surfacing of the courtyard.
This is a house of easy and intelligent pleasure. The terrazzo floor is cool and inviting underfoot in summer and warm in winter, and there are many comfortable nooks for reading. Yet, one’s eye is always pulled to the view - the borrowed landscape of valley cleft, native trees, dam and hills. The house is future-proofed through an understanding of needs as the client age. Enjoying the external environment from the inside is a pleasure the clients can enjoy, irrespective of their changing mobility. One gets the impression this silver box filled with treasures may be the elixir of life for these clients, as it is such a delightful space to live simply.
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