House On The Hill

Narre Warren North, Australia

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House On The Hill

Narre Warren North, Australia

Firm

ENCLAVE Architects

Type

Residential › Private House

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2024

SIZE

5000 sqft - 10,000 sqft

BUDGET

$1M - 5M

This large sprawling and sloping site (a fall of 35 degrees), with unimpeded views of Lysterfield Park, was ripe for a brand-new house. Designed for a couple with two young children, it was the site’s irregular-shape and aspect that provided the starting point for this large home of approximately 520 square metres. “The initial plan that was shown to us by the owners didn’t really take in the aspect or the unique topography,” says architect Madhusha Wijesiri, pointing out the views of both the valley directly ahead and the nature reserve behind.

Constructed in aerated concrete panels and in concrete-rendered masonry, the multi-level house closely follows the contours of the land. Conceived as a series of interconnected pavilions that range from single to three-storey, there’s a sense of containment within each zone together with a clear delineation of spaces into both more public and private areas. Accessed via a gentle promenade of stairs flanked by garden beds, entry into the home is via a dramatic lobby with generous wall space to display art. Enclave Architects’ use of highlight celestial windows/skylights also adds a sense of drama to the home. With a clean and minimal palette of materials, including a mixture of polished concrete & dark-stained timber floors, a reductionist approach to joinery and a number of angular walls, each space can be personalised by the clients.

The kitchen, for example, with its stone bench and stone splashback, is framed by two-pack painted joinery that conceals the kitchen appliances. But there’s also an impressive walk-in pantry/butler’s kitchen that allows the kitchen to remain minimal rather than cluttered or strewn with dishes. Forming part of the open plan dining and living area, this wing is skewed in form to embrace the northern aspect as much as the views over the valley. And on the other side of the plan, Enclave Architects located a guest bedroom, a gymnasium and a library together with a laundry and bathroom. The first level is as generous, including bedrooms for the children and a palatial main bedroom suite, the latter including a large ensuite and walk-in dressing area together with a separate lounge for the parents.

This five-bedroom house, with its finely articulated windows and skylights, was conceived to allow each view to be slowly revealed rather than presented all at once. As a result, there’s a sense of discovery at each turn. The garden permeates the lobby with its indoor garden bed framed by natural light. And to ensure a seamless division between indoors and out, Enclave Architects extended some of the materials, such as the external concrete-rendered walls inside.

The House on the Hill is more than just a large modernist home that ignores its surrounds. It responds to both the impressive views as much as creating unique and highly bespoke spaces that allow the owners to enjoy the interior spaces as much as the garden. “It’s not an overly fussy house or overly worked. But there is a sense of the hand crafted which is certainly what our practice is about,” says Wijesiri.

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House On The Hill

Narre Warren North, Australia

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House On The Hill

Narre Warren North, Australia

Other Projects by ENCLAVE Architects

Veil House

Villa Hamala

House On The Hill

Narre Warren North, Australia

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team