monegeetta, victoria
Where do you start when you're asked to design a house in a paddock? All before you is grass and flies and the distant moo or two. But this paddock was bordered on the west by a creek and beyond that creek a dramatic escarpment, home to a family of falcon's and a feed of rabbits. Our design is an attempt to mirror the drama of the escarpment and we sighted the house a respectful distance away. A critical factor was the local climatic conditions. The temperature drops the nearer you get to site. It's about 75 minutes north of Melbourne and sits in a valley that funnels the winds from the north and south. Bottom line. It's often cold and windy in winter and stinking hot in summer. So we dug the house into the hill and built protective walls from insulated concrete. The house appears as simple if not brutish in the landscape and yet inside is softened with timber and colour and fine detail. Pete and Kate are an interesting couple. Pete runs. And runs, and runs. So he had plenty of time to contemplate our ideas. We think the running helped him accept our ideas. On one occasion he ran all night!! Kate is the big sister you always wanted. She's incredibly thoughtful, kind and caring but she ain’t no pushover! She held the reins while Pete was off running. It's not your typical Australian farmhouse that's for sure. We're happy about that. Kate and Peter and their kids are too.