A breezy masonry home in Australia designed to "get better, not worse, with time"

UK architect Peter Besley, a co-founder of Assemblage Studio who now runs his own eponymous architecture practice, has recently completed work on the Couldrey House in Brisbane, Australia. The 3,400-square-foot, two-and-a-half level home is built out of brick and deploys a selection of earth-bound climate control approaches that include thermal mass, radiant cooling, and passive ventilation strategies. Besley writes, "I [...] designed Couldrey House to spring directly from the subterranean rock and to be made of heavy materials lasting a very long time," adding, "The forms and spaces are compelling, but simple. They sit heavily on the ground. They seem to say to the landscape: 'I can accompany you in your long journey.'" Attempting to tap into the overlooked geologic monumentality of the Brisbane area, Besley has created a home that is inward looking and intentionally shuts out the sounds of the city through its massive walls and cloistered internal organization.  "The architecture ...