Elm & Willow House was designed by Architects EAT, involves restoration and alteration to the existing Edwardian house and the demolition and construction at the rear of a new addition. The transparency and openness of the new part is a deliberate counterpoint to the introverted Edwardian house with its dark central corridor. Our intention was to create an “inside is outside is inside” environment, where inside and outside spaces were interchangeable elements. The project evokes a certain reference to the Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe and many courtyard houses in Melbourne by McGlashan and Everist.
photography by © James Coombe
The two mature Elm and Willow became the constraints to the project. They informed the arrangement of our new addition, and together with passive solar orientation, the result is a U-shaped plan enclosing a north-facing courtyard.
The structure is suspended over the ground to avoid damaging the critical root zones of the two trees. The concrete floor and roof slabs are meticulously detailed, with significant input from our structural engineer, to appear and feel light, floaty and airy – a dialectic relationship between weight and material. This quality is enhanced by a skeletal structure of “skin and bones”, in which the non-load-bearing glass sliding windows become a mere breathing skin between occupants and the outside world.
Internal planning strategies were devoted to the spatial hierarchy, through the interplay of inner and outer, and sequencing of spaces. The link between the old and new is merged into the layering of spaces where inside and outside become one – the transparency of the borders separating interior and exterior allows the eye to perceive other elements that create the spatial order: fences, trees, stones, woods, clouds and borrowed landscape.
photography by © James Coombe
The addition has a passive ventilation system, whereby louver windows promote cross ventilation. The building materials specified are non-toxic and from renewable resources. The concrete structure provides thermal mass to the house with the slabs further insulated to minimize heat loss. All glazing is double-glazed to provide comfort to the interior, and the deciduous trees provide essential shading to the house during summer. Energy and water-saving fittings have been used throughout and rainwater is harvested for use in the gardens. A new carport with grid-connect solar power panels is in the design process.
It was a total of 3 years from the first meeting with the clients to the day they moved back into the Willow house, during which the construction took 18 months. The clients found passion in designing their gardens and their first child was also born during construction. It is a house for enjoyment, living amongst the landscape with family, and the appreciation of tranquillity, intimacy, and sanctuary – which were all part of the original brief.
photography by © James Coombe
Project Info:
Architects: Architects EAT
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Project Team: Albert Mo, James Coombe, Eid Goh
Structural Engineer: R. Bliem & Associates
Landscaper: Heath Landscape
Building Surveyor: Building Strategies
Builder: Sargent Construction
Area: 278.0 m2
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: James Coombe, Earl Carter
Project Info: Elm & Willow House
