As you walk toward Cornerstone House in Melbourne’s leafy suburb of Northcote, you are treated to the first glimpses of a performance that is about to begin. Long ribbons of black plate aluminum, twisted to create the sense of a rippling curtain, run the full height of the front facade.

As you enter stage left, between the unyielding granite blocks that flank the entryway, you suspend your disbelief and brace for something decidedly theatrical.

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Mark and Cara Harbottle weren’t specifically looking for a lot of drama when they first provided their brief to architects AshaNicholas and Chris Stanley from SplinterSociety Architecture. What they sought was a home that would grow with them and their three young children, the use of robust natural materials, and a sense of privacy. Working in IT, Mark also wanted to make the most of the latest home automation systems.

But when the designers looked to the locale for context, the site itself proved an irresistible grand stage. The property sits above ancient lava flows and is not far from multiple quarries, the source of the stones used to construct many of Melbourne’s oldest buildings.

As an homage, the architects brought in a dozen oversized granite blocks to form the basis of the design, strategically placing them at surprising moments as you make your way through the house and landscape. The massive blocks have largely retained the industrial tooling marks that are normally cut away to form tiles and blockwork—the trace of human labor only accentuates the natural heft of these brutes.

“The stones are the thing that makes people go ‘Wow!’ ” Cara says. “They’re very unexpected and very different from anything they’ve seen elsewhere.”

The stones were craned into position early in construction, and they anchor the central spine of the 4,800-square-foot plan. The house rises up from them with a contrasting lightness. A curved roof peels skyward from a single-story living and dining space to a two-story volume containing bedrooms that is capped by a slightly irregular gable. Large glass windows and sliding doors frame a courtyard and pool. From the raised poolside deck, the building reads as a collection of smaller structures.

As you enter the courtyard, past the first of the monolithic stone protagonists, the natural light playing off varied materials makes for a powerful opening act. Warm timbers contrast with black steel and gray-blue stonework, while vertical standing-seam cladding with perfectly straight lines is in conversation with the draped-canvas-like roofline and the rugged, predominantly native garden.

The real magic, though, is in well thought-out and expertly crafted details.The concave ceiling has been finished with roughly textured plaster, so that at a certain point in the day the sunlight catches every trowel mark, instantly bringing the surface to life.

Thick blackbutt timber doors allow for privacy or disappear into wall recesses in the playroom-cum-guestroom. Technology has been expertly integrated, fading into the background until it bursts into life in the form of music, lighting, and automatic blinds the moment someone hits the “party mode” switch.

“Asha is into order, refinement, and simplicity, while I’m into chaos and more,” Stanley says, explaining the creative ideology behind Splinter Society’s design. “A lot of our jobs are a balance between trying to get some regularity and a singular narrative, but then having lots of little moments that break it and create interest.”

The building gets its theatrical quality from these moments. It has a sense of constant motion as light moves across surfaces and reflects off water, metal, and glass. The home transitions slowly from one function to the next as the family goes about their day. These gestures, some subtle and some striking, add up to a spectacular performance.

Project Credits:

Architecture: Splinter Society Architecture / @splinter_society_architecture

Building: Imperial Builders / @imperialbuilders

Structural Engineering: Don Moore + Associates

Landscape Design: Eckersley Garden Architecture / @eckersleygardenarchitecture

Styling, Art, and Object Design: Swee Design / @sweedesign

Artwork: David O’Brien / @davidobrienart

Artwork: Penelope Aitken / @penelopeaitken

Sculptures: Emma Davies @emmadavies.art

Photography: Sharyn Cairns / @sharyncairns

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