An Inky Black Melbourne Home Draws Its Hue From the Ironbark Eucalyptus
Kirsten Johnstone Architecture creates a sustainable home that blends into the landscape with a palette of rammed earth, concrete, and timber.
Kirsten Johnstone Architecture creates a sustainable home that blends into the landscape with a palette of rammed earth, concrete, and timber.
When a couple with a teenage daughter approached architect Kirsten Johnstone to design a new house in Melbourne, they asked for an environmentally friendly home that would provide a space for all stages of family life.
"This was their first experience working with an architect, and they were fully engaged with the process," says Johnstone. "They wanted a home that would encourage similar forward-thinking design nearby—and they are thrilled when neighbors comment on the home and how it responds to the area."
"I love the idea of hidden gems and an element of surprise," says architect Kirsten Johnstone. "In this project, the application of a consistent material across the front facade provides ambiguity; the front door is clad in the same timber as the walls and doesn’t have a door handle. It is a quirky element that lends the opening of the door a sense of drama."
Tatjana Plitt
It was essential that the home respond sensitively to the site, which is L-shaped and located in a Significant Landscape Overlay in Blackburn, a unique suburban pocket of Melbourne. The surrounding area has strict tree protections and planning controls, which significantly impacted the home’s allowable footprint.
"We designed deep reveals, wide niches, and restrained forms to reduce the built scale of the new home," says architect Kirsten Johnstone. "The large panes of glass reflect the surrounding trees like a bush billabong."
Tatjana Plitt
"The restrictive planning overlays limited the height of this new home, so I used design techniques to create a light, airy home—linear wall cladding, a stepped-down floor plate to the front lounge, the stepped ceiling between the dining and rear living areas, and different materials," says Johnstone. "This completely disguises the reality that this is a very modestly sized home by suburban standards."
The home aims to reduce long-term operating costs through the use of solar power and energy-efficient appliances, resulting in lower energy bills. Carefully considered niches and deep reveals throughout allow the sun to reach the concrete ground floor slab in winter—and help moderate heat in the summer.
Tatjana Plitt
See the full story on Dwell.com: An Inky Black Melbourne Home Draws Its Hue From the Ironbark Eucalyptus
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