Image Credit : Jack Lovel
Project Overview
Moat's Corner draws on an inspired vision and a commitment to an established setting. Refined to a point of tranquil precision, forming an interactive haven, with which to experience the life and energy that surrounds it.
The elevated main level of the home observes the immediate gardens from a habitual perspective. Mid-canopy height, the glazed walls completely soak up the greenery that surrounds them. The northern length of the building is realized from the main living through to the master wing and back, with a sliding doorway the only possible disruption.
Raw galvanized steel appears as an offset frame to the intermittent reflective panels, while floor and roof structures adhere to the depth tolerances that the steel members prescribe. A natural stack stone fin is the grounding element below a completely cantilevered bedroom wing, projecting the roots of the design inspiration - a mid-century modernist ethos encompassing honesty to materials, structural innovation and minimal ornamentation. The elevated band provides a look through to the landscape poolside, allowing vegetation to nestle gently under and around with minimal disturbance.
Private from the gym and golf room, a self-contained guest wing with its own outlook, to the pool level and to the east, opening up to rural paddocks where cattle graze at a pedestrian pace. The stone wall motif returns to frame the pool at one side and separate from the recreational area on the other.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Designer - Michael O'Sullivan
Assistant Designer - Kathryn O'Sullivan
Project Brief
The clients' requirement was for the home to be generational, to be able to live for now and well into the future. A heavy focus was placed on experiencing the established 5 acres of botanical gardens, set within the 53-acre farm. A family with teenage children who wanted to have, in time, grandchildren enjoying the same experience. The design response was to be timeless, beautiful and worthy of such a long-term plan. We could not impact the existing garden, so it had to reside in place of the original home's footprint. We viewed the existing dwelling location and its proximity to key established areas of vegetation, noting the lack of visual connection.
In answer to the brief, our design response was to develop the main living area at such a height to allow views over and under the house the occupants to live at tree canopy height. We were able to take this one step further by engaging a glass cladding system that allowed a full reflection of the surrounding gardens, always changing and moving with the seasons.
Project Innovation/Need
The west wall and entry elevation is one of protection, intrigue and interaction, an example of the innovation found throughout the project. From outside - insulated black panels spaced to a dual glass cladding guard for weather protection. But they are more appreciated at a sensory level, where on approach they completely fill with the reflected silhouette of the established west gardens. From inside - the panels take the form of bookshelves to the bedroom wing and bench top and storage to the kitchen. They are framed with deep-set glass above, below and between ensuring natures moments are never missed. The panels are structurally hung off steel columns which are also called upon to act as downpipes intermittently.
The roof drainage alone on this project is something of great detail. No standard downpipes can be seen on the outside of the building. Chain downpipes are used below the cantilevered bedroom wing, preventing interruption of the floating element. There is a completely hidden roof structure over the laundry/mud, visually concealed by the main entertaining deck above.
This home is innovative for re-thinking everything we have come to expect as standard within a home. Bathroom shelving is imagined as an offset black pocket within a white glass panel. The bedroom wing hallway turns away from just a traffic space to an interactive, light-filled library.
The attention given to refining every single element and experience allows the home to be an innovative whole.
Design Challenge
The site's layered history began with a pioneering family, after whom Moat's Corner was named. A gnarled cypress lined driveway is an historic cue to the first settlers on this rural property within the coastal town on Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula. Next came almost 70 years of a gardener's cultivating and collecting, resulting in a rambling and diverse array of flora across 5 acres of the 53 acres stretch. A new phase now and the owners' commitment to create a home over the existing footprint set the tone for the design challenge - to respond to the integrity of its setting.
In response to the challenge, to live in the home is to co-exist with the garden. Perched respectfully, the modernist inspired style opens itself up to the garden at every opportunity, equally important and equally celebrated. There is not a space within the home deemed principal or secondary that does not acknowledge the life that surrounds it. Reflecting nature's mood, unpredictable but always in a synchronised sway.
Sustainability
Sustainable practices have been thoughtfully incorporated into Moat's Corner so as to have no impact visually. Large underground water tanks are concealed out of site, capturing every drop of rain from the expansive roof, for use in toilets, gardens and the pool. Solar panels have been fitted to the farm shed and cabled back to the house, providing maximum benefit without the usual visual prominence.
Passive sustainability measures are also an integral part of the design scheme. Intentionally configured to capture light and natural ventilation, the home opens to expansive decks sheltered by deep continual eaves which both obstruct the harsh summer sun while embracing the winter warmth. Sliding glass doors envelope the dwelling core, enabling the occupants to passively control the indoor climate by dictating the degree and direction of cross ventilation. A raised roof structure affords ventilation and easterly light to the entry space, rumpus room and centralized amenities.
Considered zoning of the building, including separate master, living, guest and bedroom zones, provides the option for areas to be closed off when vacant, eliminating unnecessary energy use.
High quality, local materials were utilised where possible, for instance the Mt Angus Sandstone, in combination with high quality workmanship, ensuring longevity of the building.
Architecture - Residential - Constructed
This award celebrates the design process and product of planning, designing and constructing form, space and ambience that reflect functional, technical, social, and aesthetic considerations. Consideration given for material selection, technology, light and shadow.
More Details