ASHBURTON HOUSE
Phooey Architects
PROJECT YEAR
2009
LOCATION
Melbourne, Australia
CATEGORY
Houses
Text description provided by architect.
The form of the new house is an extruded L shape, two storeys tall. The inside of the L is lined with windows that face a linear park & its canopy of trees to the south-east of the site.
"The new house was designed around one long view," says Peter, & it is as simple as that. All the rooms take advantage of it ...
The house is planned around views from the inside, yet the aesthetic focus is mainly on the exterior. The metal-clad upper storey, with its jutting, angled planes, is not mere sculptural play, however.
Peter describes it as a "sawtooth facade." Like a roof on its side, it is a self-shading wall - the angled planes block summer sun from striking & heating the surface ... Inside the house, there is a joyous feeling of being in the tree canopy, with the park stretching into the distance ...
Multiple access points allow the clients' children to run around & through the house. There is a real empathy with how children will perceive & enjoy the space in the way Peter speaks about the internal planning.
