sanctuary

Montmorency / Wurundjeri Land
Photographer: Lisbeth Grosmann

This family home is sited across the road from a railway line. To protect inhabitants from noisy clatter of the trains, the house is oriented away from the road, with a U-shaped form that wraps around an internal courtyard and swimming pool. Embedded in a steep hillside that drops away from the road, the house becomes like a sanctuary. Clad in thick concrete blocks, it is solid and substantial.

Concrete blockwork is continued through into the interior of the house, its rough texture illuminated by the light that pours through generous windows. Design thinking is dotted throughout: shelves which are seats, tables in nooks, windows inset between cupboards.