Reflections House is a contemporary rural farm located on the hillcrest in the Samford Valley, Queensland, Australia.
The house is developed on the hill’s southern edge.
The geometrical design is the result of an accurate study toward the identification of the best location to totally embrace the views offered by the site.
The building scheme is constructed around a strict bioclimatic analysis.
The layout of the building facilitates the flow of summer breezes and shield the sunlight in the hot season.
On the other hand, during the cold season the outer casing mobility follows the inclination of the sun's rays and allows the architectonic body to take full advantage of the winter weather.
The structure is mixed. A single rammed wall is the fulcrum of the building. It symbolizes the connection with the earth and it functionally divides the sleeping area from the living area, stiffening the light steel structure above which has the merit of allowing the large openings in the cardinal direction of greater solar radiation.
The entire exposed structure arise from the desire to communicate material truthfulness and technological expressiveness, refusing any kind of forgery.
The warmth of the interior wooden floors, the rough exterior concrete paving, the texture of the rammed wall, the visible steel frame and the frameless glazing system are resolved in a contrast that highlights the diversity of the local natural landscape and mirrors it.
The geometric angles and the volumetric composition, resulting from architectural study, generate a multitude of different reflections depending on the daily sunlight; the vegetation, the sky and the horizon are reflected inside the building which becomes the external extension of the natural environment.
The casing can be fully opened and allows a constant flow between inside and outside.
During the night hours the colored LED lights offer a different dimension of artificial light reflection towards the outside.
The thin cover, which soars over the steel frame is almost invisible in the architectural context and concludes the building in its vertical extension.
Still following a principle of Sustainability, the cover acts as a rain water collector which is then redistributed for domestic use.
The linearity of the building allows a close connection with the horizon creating a spatial continuity between natural and artificial, in perfect harmony with the valley below.