15
Upper level master bedroom. Staircase
from kitchen to upstair bedroom and second
of three bedrooms.
Tasmania can be cold and often bleak, yet hot too. This
house really opens itself up to the climate and place in
brave, some might even say foolhardy ways.
There is a great variation between summer and winter,
together with good days of winter sun. In winter there’s
obviously a very low sun while the kitchen and dining space
begin to take on the character of a protected outdoor
room. That’s primarily possible with the use of extended
glazing and glass doors on each side of the space. It can be
closed down when it’s cold and then completely opened up
and that allows the home-owners this tremendous flexibility
and control of their environment throughout the year.
Over summer there’s a prevailing westerly wind they can
manage and moderate. They can simply reset each side
of the building and sit outside or in.
That’s a very specific lifestyle response. The clients work
in the food industry and agriculture. That’s kind of reflected
in the way the house works as well. It’s a strong connection
to the landscape and the future potential for primary
production of some sort, and also that focus onto the
kitchen where food and drink are enjoyed.
There’s a few visual tricks occurring that disguise
the building’s size.
More so with its perceived height from the street. From
the roadside approach the house appears to be a medium
height, single-storey, but in fact it’s two. And there’s
a cellar as well. It’s three-storeys but disguises that scale
quite carefully.