The design of Fish Creek House by Model Office was fully pushed by its site. The uncovered South Gippsland block supplied fascinating views all through the countryside, nonetheless with these acquired right here heavy publicity to the powerful winds of the southern shoreline. ‘On calm days, strolling all through the bare distinctive site was bliss, though when the winds blew, it was uninhabitable,’ says Kim Bridgland, Model Office director.
This battle educated the design response: a house pulled apart into three linked pavilions, each drawing once more from the following to allow a connection to the northern photo voltaic.
A textured brick wall wraps throughout the pavilions, sheltering the home from the ferocious winds and making a sequence of protected courtyards throughout the areas between.
Low-cost recycled bricks kind a sturdy, intently textured mortar exterior pattern that catches and shapes the shadow of the photo voltaic as a result of it passes all through the ground. ‘The sunshine and shadow that play all through the textured flooring of the enveloping brick partitions are nearly performative in nature as they shift all through the house, expressing the shifting ephemerality of the Australian panorama,’ says Kim.
By stretching the home all through three pavilions, the patrons are moreover able to ‘shrink’ the interiors after they’re its solely occupants, and enhance when their family are visiting. Each pavilion is faceted on its northern face, angled to face the photo voltaic.
Constructed-in into the property are plenty of sustainable design choices. ‘Reasonably than being seen as compromises, the design was enabled and pushed by these sustainable concepts.’ says Kim.
60,000 litres of rainwater is caught and saved on site to supply the house; all waste is dealt with on-site with a worm farm composting remedy system; and a 7kW picture voltaic PV system is put in on the roof.
Model Office have created a home that acts as a mediator for the panorama, whereas offering a deep connection to place.