VISION 52 – BLOOMFIELD HOUSE ASCOT VALE
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How does this reveal itself in the similarities and
differences of your work?
There’s a strong link between projects but in a different
form. Another project, Mitchell Street, Northcote deals
with another aspect. That’s a lightweight construction
to an existing Edwardian home to which we added a
modernist, clean, simple volume. There the horizontal
volume uses external glass blades to brace and provide
support. There is an ‘aesthetic’ to the building that sees
it sit on a very gentle frameless glass ground floor
allowing the upper level to just float above. Viewed from
the western elevation on that facade, you see a beautiful,
gentle addition of modern architecture sitting gently
behind an existing Edwardian home.
How important is material selection and the story
of sustainability by sourcing glass for example
locally? Does its warranty and supplier back up
add benefits for you?
It does. Yes, that’s important. Dealing with suppliers
locally, and having dialogue with them is important.
When material lands at your doorstep, or on your
construction site, would you know where it’s from?
That’s the benefit about dealing with local people.
Understanding materials that are local, and that support
the local economy, to me, is also very important. We
are moving in the direction where there’s a blurred line,
as in what’s local, what’s not. Do we know where it’s from
anymore? When we do understand that it’s from here the
one big benefit is that working with local suppliers to get
the outcome we want is maybe the most important thing.
So the intellectual property of local people is the big
benefit. It’s not just the supply and order, it’s dialogue
and working through the trouble-shooting problems.