Project: Studley Park House
Architects: March Studio
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Area: 4,843 sf
Photographs by: Peter Bennetts
Studley Park House by March Studio
Just a few days ago we showcased the Compound House project by March Studio in Brighton, Melbourne.
After the success of that contemporary residence, we wanted to bring another one of this studio’s projects. We didn’t have to look for long before discovering the amazing Studley Park House in the district of Kew in Melbourne. This is a modern home with a bold exterior, though in a way, similar to the Compound House.
Studley Park House attempts to balance large scale modern living with the optimism and ideals of the local modernist gems of the area. Structure, technology, and materials are pushed to their limits in an attempt to contrast the steep topography and native landscapes the area is famous for. Confidently cantilevering out over the landscape to create the carport, the methodical straight lines accentuate the sloping topography allowing the inhabitants to exist with the trees became the inspiration.
The primary move was to anchor the building into one corner of the site, balancing and cantilevering out to the other to allow vehicles to pass underneath. Pedestrian access is via a stair, hanging from the floating structure and fulfilling a lifelong ambition to enter a building from below.
The black timber dowel screen offers privacy and fall protection and disguises what is essentially a black box. The roof form of the upper level is also legible, angled to allow the morning sun to enter in what is, on a site falling to the West, notoriously difficult to obtain.
The client’s focus on their young family and entertaining is reflected through the ground floor where the relationship between indoor and outdoor, living the cooking is fluid and interconnected. While the upper floor of the home aims to prepare the family for the later stages of their children’s lives, where the option for privacy and separation will become as important as the values of shared space.
