He also adopted the lichen’s ability to
find the most advantageous environmen-
tal conditions to grow in, allowing the
house geometry to twist and turn to find
the best position on the site.
The approach to the house has been
kept deliberately subtle and unassuming.
“When you drive up, you really don’t
see the house until you’re right by it,” says
Schwartz. “It’s very low slung and almost
demure, given its size and the landscape
around it. It doesn’t draw attention to itself.”
In keeping with this, the residence is
clad in cedar stained a translucent grey
with purple undertones, a colour that
complements the setting, the oak trees and
the lichen.
“But when you open the front door,
you’re hit with this astonishing view that’s
framed by the house. The house helps you
understand the site and its qualities by
choreographing your movements so that
the best qualities of the site unfold.”
This ‘unfolding’ results from the home’s
T-shaped plan, the two main arms of the T
forming the living wing and the bedroom
Above: Architect Neal Schwartz says aspects
of the lichen’s symbiotic relationship to the oak
trees underpin the architecture of the home. The
most overt expression of this is the patterned
aluminium trellis that frames the house on the
pool side. This photo looks back from under the
trellis on the pool side of the house, through the
entranceway and front door, to the carport and
oak trees at the front of the house.
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