A man fell in love with a garden and commissioned a house within its grounds.
Conceived as an L-shaped plan, the house forms an enclosed courtyard with the existing landscape. A blue brick tower with a corner window greets the visitor on arrival. Upon turning the corner, the stark solidity of the brick falls away to glazed walls, offering views into the private world of the house. A single-storey wing stretches out to the south west, revealing bedrooms, kitchen and dining room. The living area sits within the tower’s double height volume, a study space up on high overlooking the garden.
Blue bricks and sapele timber are chosen for the facade to complement the green of the landscape beyond. Insitu concrete walls are used to provide continuity between external and internal walls. Internally, concrete and timber structures are left exposed to reveal the construction of the house and give the interiors a sense of temporality. A smooth polished concrete floor and fine timber joinery are chosen to soften the spaces and age gently over time, revealing the patina of human habitation.