Monterey

A distinctive, porous and deceptively simple home set amongst the pines in Balnarring, Victoria. Modest in scale and footprint, this materially rich home was designed and built with an emphasis on creating liveable, high quality spaces by utilising simple, robust volumes, tactile and practical surfaces and strong connections to the landscape and the seasons. Key to the design process was an uncompromising approach to site orientation and to passive design principles, resulting in a naturally lit, heated and cooled home which performs well year round. The layout of the house radiates from a strong central pivot point, offering pathways to a series of unique spatial experiences and functional zones. Versatile spaces and relationships allow the home to grow and evolve with the occupants, while offering each their own space to breathe and find solitude. Living areas are knotted together towards the front of the home, allowing day to day practicality to coexist with broader ideas about connections to community, porosity and view. A range of key openings create clear sight lines through the house, aspects to treetops, and strategic opportunities for cross ventilation and framed views.