Mount Macedon House
Mount Macedon House was built on a vacant one-acre site at the foot of the mountain, long in the east-west direction, with a single pin oak tree at the north boundary. The house is a 50m-long linear building that runs along the length of the site and is positioned as close to the south boundary as possible to maximise and protect the garden space to the north. The house is very private to the street and has a long glazed north façade overlooking the garden and the mountain in the distance.
The large pitched roof and corrugated steel roofing and cladding reference vernacular buildings and the original surrounding houses, while a row of pin oak trees was planted along the north boundary, inspired by those lining the Avenue nearby.
The house was designed for one person to live happily on their own in a single open space, rather than a series of smaller confined spaces, containing a bedroom, living room, kitchen, dining and sitting room. This single open space has a long horizontal window and view north, which, in combination with the solid protective south façade, makes for a calm and comforting space that extends outwards towards the garden and mountain.
The house is flooded with sunlight in winter for strong passive performance and for the psychological benefit of winter sun, of particular importance for a single occupant in a cold climate.
While the house was designed for one person, it also needed to cater for the owner’s large visiting family. There are several private spaces that sit within the larger space, with smaller openings to the south for cross-ventilation: two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a storeroom and an entry room with a powder room.
With guests, the house can be divided in half into public and private areas, six bays of windows for each, defined by granite and timber flooring respectively and separated by a sliding panel. A sliding panel also closes the main bedroom from the rest of the house.
There are two circulation paths: for the owner, from the car parking area into the private part of the house; and for guests, through the main entrance into the public part of the house.
The floor levels step down as the site falls from west to east to create a direct relationship between the interior and garden and appropriate ceiling heights for each space. The concrete edge beam at the north façade remains at the highest level and becomes a seat as the floor levels drop, allowing the house to accommodate large numbers of people.
The windows, structure, walls and joinery all align to the tile grid, and the house was designed around the owner’s existing furniture and appliances. The interior is lined with plywood for warmth, to soften the direct sunlight and to balance the concrete, granite, steel and aluminium.
Strong passive performance means no cooling is required in summer, and heating is needed only in the middle of winter through hydronic panels and underfloor heating.
