Jury citation
A clifftop on the Bass Coast is a challenging environment; when the wind howls down this way, you want to nestle in out of the weather. Bass Coast Farmhouse unashamedly braces itself against its surroundings, with the interior providing a delightfully warming and welcoming counterpoint. The front door opens into a deep, coir-mat-floored mudroom complete with handbasin. At this point, what seems from the outside to be a simple, modern interpretation of an Australian shed reveals itself as a complex courtyard house, with the courtyard dropping away alongside the natural slope of the terrain.
A glazed and shuttered cloister takes you (right) to the bedroom wing, or (left) to the kitchen, dining and lounge, which cantilever off the slope below. A covered bridge completes the circuit, connecting the lounge back to the main bed suite on terra firma. Acres of spotted gum line the facade, while judiciously placed windows bathe the interior – lined with veneered plywood – in a warm light. The house brims with superbly original detail, from custom pieces of furniture, to mechanically operated shutters (complete with kinetic motors), to exquisitely simple balustrades.
“Every possible fragment of original building fabric has been re-used.”
Bass Coast Farmhouse is located in Bass Coast, Victoria on Boonwurrung Country and was reviewed by Rachel Hurst in Houses 149.
Project credits
Architect: Wardle; Project team: John Wardle, Diego Bekinschtein, Megan Fraser, Andrew Wong, Luca Vezzosi, Adrian Bonaventura, Maya Borjesson, Chloë Lanser; Structural engineer and civil consultant: OPS Engineers; Building services: Griepink and Ward Air Conditioning, Nissl Eichert Heating; Electrical consultant: Burra Electrical; ESD consultant: Greensphere; Geotechnical and bushfire consultant: Ark Angel; Building surveyor: SWA; Quantity surveyor: Prowse Quantity Surveyors; Landscape consultant: Jo Henry Landscape Design; Landscape contractor: The Sustainable Landscape Company; Land surveyor: Beveridge Williams.
