separate pavilion. One half contains the living spaces, including
kitchen, dining, lounge and conversation areas, and the garage.
This half is positioned toward the southern, lower end of the slope,
allowing it to take advantage of the views to the south, out across the
valley. The second half contains the study, bedrooms, laundry and
bathroom areas of the house. This half is positioned on the upper or
northern end of the slope.
Dividingthehouseintotwohalveswasonlythefirstpartofthe
strategy.Therealtrickwastoseparatethepavilionsandposition
thematdifferentlevels,cascadingdowntheslopeonaseriesof
terraces. Separating them in section (vertically) helped to get
sunlight and views into both halves, as did the other key move –
slidingonehalffurtheralongthesitethantheother–separatingthe
halves in plan (horizontally). This split-and-slide manoeuvre allowed
MoloneyArchitectstoreconcilethetwocompetingfactorsinthe
site:viewsinonedirectionandsunlightfromanother.Theresultis
that both halves of the house have access to both features – sunlight
andviews.Aneattrick.
Connecting the two halves is the small entry pavilion, on a third
levelbetweenthem.Onearrivesatthispointviaalong,terraced
landscape,whichgivesthearrivingvisitoralow,obliqueviewofthe
connectedhalves.Thearchitectshavethoughtcarefullyabouthow
thehouseisseeninthelandscape,andthearrivalvistaisthefirst
orchestratedview;thesecondistheviewfromoutsidethehouseat
theopposite,easternendofthesite,wherebycontrastthehouse
loomshighandappearsmuchlargerandmoreheroic.Inthisway
the dwelling has been designed to be pleasing from both the inside
outandtheoutsidein,frommultipleviewpoints.
The house doesn’t contain a single piece of plasterboard. The
qualityofdetailingandthefinishofthebuildarecommendable;
doorsslideintowallsasplanesofabstractflatnessandappearagain
asifoutofthinair.Theowner-builder’sattentiontodetailhasbeen
exacting,withthepluckyduofindingmorethanoneopportunity
torefinethedesignintheactualbuildingprocess.Theirtenacityin
researching the finest details of the building went one step beyond
whatonemightexpectfromtheaveragebuilder, realizing the
MoloneyArchitectsdesignasitwasintended.
Finishes and colours throughout are quite simply delicious. The
house is highlighted by an earthy palette that evokes the many hues
ofthebushingeneralandeucalyptusinparticular.Colourisin
allcasesusedsparingly.Flat,neutraltonesoftimber,concreteand
blackporcelaintilesformabackgroundandbaseforthemoments
of more saturated colour. The result is a harmonious, and very
Australian, palette.
Inanactof“givingback,”theownersoftheTwoHalvesHouse
agreed to open their home to interested strangers after a request
from Open House Melbourne, who recently expanded the festival to
hosttheinauguralOpenHouseBallarat(28–29October2017).The
pair’s motivation to do this was inspired by that initial site visit with
MoloneyArchitects–fromthisactofsharingcametheimpetusto
create the Two Halves House. There is nothing quite so compelling
as seeing the real thing and it is hoped that this ongoing gesture
of personal generosity on behalf of the clients will feed a virtuous
circle of future inspiration and commission.^06
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