Ballarat House
The site for the Ballarat House is set within a suburban golfing estate on the western fringe of Ballarat. The house seeks to compose itself through the restraint of a few key gestures alongside the refined handling of an otherwise robust palette.
The plan was developed to allow a degree of internal flexibility, grouping the living spaces the clients required for daily life toward the rear of the site, taking advantage of the north sun and opening onto the back yard. One first encounters the refined folded steel gutter, and transitions along the entry deck as the project unfolds toward the rear of the site. The wide entry hallway extends through the middle of the plan, timber conceals the utility spaces and pitches in height toward the living spaces – a welcoming and generous gesture given to the modest footprint of the house.
The ceiling continues to rake to the north and enhances the humble scale of the entry up into the generous living volume, whilst allowing sunlight deep into the concrete slab through winter.
The material palette is controlled, cypress cladding extends from the external elevation along the length of the hallway wrapping the garage and utility space and acts as an orientation device. The timber beams set the discipline of the structural grid, and gently extend to a taper at both ends to externally express themselves and provide continuity and clarity to the simple overall pitch of the project.
Externally the robust blockwork on the east and west reflects the internal profile and are extruded past the north and south face of the building, providing depth and articulation to these facades.
Offset against the heavy blade walls, the roof canopy is simple and refined as it tapers to a point, and allows the folded steel gutter to cut a sharp silhouette against the undulating roof forms of the adjoining buildings.
