130 OOI HOUSE
OoiHousebyKerryHillArchitectsisa seminal
projectinAustralia’smodernarchitecturalcanon.
Revisitingtheiconmorethantwodecadesafter
itsconstructionleavesthestrikingimpression
ofa nuancedhomeinextricably bound to its site.WordsbyBrettMitchell
Photography by Peter BennettsCanyourecalltheimagesofarchitecturethatfirst
lefta lastingimpressiononyou?Forme,thereare
three:MagneyHousebyGlennMurcutt(1984),House
inNipponbashibyWaroKishi(1992)andOoiHouseby
KerryHill(1997).Thesemodernminimalimagespersist
inmymemorydespitemyowndistancefromtheworks.
Eachprojectisa specific,highlyrefinedresponseto
constraintsandlocalconditions;butI proposethatthere
isanopennesswithinimagesoftheseprojects– filled
withtheviewer’sownimaginedexperiences– thatdefies
thestasisoftheirphotography.
TheOoiHouse,whichislistedontheAustralian
InstituteofArchitects’registerofnationallysignificant
architecture,wasreportedlyneveroccupiedbythe
commissioningclient.Forme,familycampingtripsin
andaroundMargaretRiverinWesternAustraliaadded
additionallayerstomyimpressionsoftheproject's
architecturalimage:thecacophonyofcicadasclicking
inthemiddayheat,a horizonbuckledbyoceanswells,
andtoweringforestsswayingatopgravellyredclay.When
suchheadyexperiencesalignwithspecificarchitectural
intent,thearchitecture,siteandexperiencebecome
chargedwithnewmeaning.
It isthelivedexperienceoftheOoiHousethat
iscriticaltounderstandingthearchitecturalaffectofthis
earlybutseminalAustralianprojectbyKerryHillArchitects.
Hand-drawnsketchesinsignaturebluepencildepict
functionalaspectsoflight,viewandwindaskeyconcerns,
butwithinthestrictlyorderedplanthereisalsospatial
delight.Thefunctionalnorth–southliving/sleeping
arrangementisdissolvedbychoreographedmomentssetin
motionbytheinterstitialspacesoftheglazedcourtyard,
sunkenreadingroomandrammedearthhallway.
Permutationsofspaceandexperienceprevent
theprojectfrombeingreadsingularlyasanobjectinthe
landscape(forlookingat)ora fixedscenographicframe
(forlookingoutof ).Theplan– asanidea– effortlesslybinds
themultiplicityofsitetobuildingandoccupant.TheOoi
Housecontainsarchetypesandprinciplesfoundthroughout
a now-globalbodyofworkspanningallscalesandtypesby
KerryHillArchitects;courtyardspacesarebutonesuchmotif.
Thecourtyardhere,locatedbetweentheopen,
pitchedpavilionandenclosedprivatebedrooms,initiates
a pinwheelingofspaceandenablesinfiniteshiftsin
perspectiveandalignment.Thepresenceofwatercreates
a stillandcontemplativespace,whileviewstothesky
andouttotheforestaremediatedbyopeningsinsolid
earthwallsordissolvedbyreflectionscastontofull-height
frameless glass. A dynamic tension between the horizonOoi House
by Kerry Hill Architects
REVISITED