VISION 39 — HOUSE-MASTER
10
Some buildings , even relatively new ones , appear to have existed in their landscape almost forever . In an odd , rare twist , their absence would drastically diminish their settings . Look no further than the Sydney Opera House , Berlin ’ s Reichstag Parliament and Frank Lloyd-Wright ’ s Fallingwater to name just three . The same effect is possible with modest budgets and aspirations where real architecture such as David Seeley ’ s seems to rejuvenate old ground .
His best work is balletic – all taut muscle and sinew . Such work lightly grips and springs from the landscape . Poetic in assembly and structural rhythms his designs glister and glisten as a stone skips across water with cause and effect . Patterns , cadence and sparkling light are central visual cues . It ’ s worth remembering that these houses follow on from an era of Modernism carved from blocks of stone and soaring glass often in brave , clearsighted ways . But rather than sterile dogma and ‘ isms ’, Seeley ’ s houses steer clear of formula . The results are ergonomic , agile and lovely as a surfboard shape to slice water .
Seeley knows materials . His work reflects an understanding of the way they interlock to complement and contrast . Good material usage sparks a conversation with occupants and place rather than impose a dreaded monologue .
Materials alone never create great architecture . No amount of marble and chrome lavished on facades , foyers or bathrooms produces the star . It takes people to buy into robust ideas rather than slick veneer . Sometimes easier said than done . Artistry and technical bravura are rare commodities always tested and challenged . Fine architects respect materials in the manner of the sculptor often testing the limits of their engineers and builders .
He might be dismissed as a provincial designer , too distant from the big end of town to matter , if his work was not quite so irresistible . His journey towards architecture has been unconventional and yet tallies with the often diverse , oblique life experiences of many of the best practitioners . Air-traffic control training , landscaping and building and construction all inform his work .
These seemingly unrelated experiences assist a finely honed fit and climate . The floating , sensuous roof / ceiling of the Lauriston House complements the landscape in imaginative , thoughtful ways . Its roof evokes a flying carpet with rhythmical undulations highlighted by clerestory glazing .