Vaulted Skylights and Concrete Columns Connect This Melbourne Home With the Sun

Designed by Melbourne practice Architects EAT, the Moving House has three concrete-sculpted skylights that allow the mood of its interiors to change with the movement of the sun.

The 3,229-square-foot house takes up two-thirds of the width of its plot, with the other third set aside for the garden. 

Rather than place large windows in the front of the house and sacrifice privacy on the north-facing street side, the architects incorporated three large vaulted skylights so that natural light can enter the interiors from above, basking the living spaces in a soft glow.

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The exterior of the house is wrapped in a screen of white aluminum slats, which echo the architecture of the neighborhood while providing structural clarity.  

Inside, repeated roof geometries in the form of concrete columns, which support three vaulted skylights and off-form gutter beams, give the interiors an industrial vibe. However, the hard, industrial edge is toned down with white walls, warm wood details, a muted color palette, and soft curtains.

The skylights, set along the elongated sides of the concrete columns, bring in ample direct sunlight, which alters the atmosphere in the house throughout the hours of the day and over the changing seasons. 

The sunlight is enhanced as it's reflected back into the interiors through the textured curves of the vaults and bright white walls.   

Merging elements of brutalism and modernism, the house has a character that changes as its light shifts in tandem with the rhythm of the sun and moon. 

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Project Credits:

-Architecture: Architects EAT

-Builder: Sargant Construction

-Structural engineer: R. Bliem & Associates Pty Ltd