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05: DESIGN LONGVIEW HOUSE
LOCATION WILDES MEADOW,
NEW SOUTH WALES
Largely constructed of factory-produced
materials, this country homestead, which resides
on 40 hectares of prime farmland in country New
South Wales, was assembled onsite without too
much hassle, according to homeowner Roger
Vidler. “I worked closely with the builder and his
team and he collaborated with subcontractors
whose work I admired,” says Roger, who was
also the architect of the project. Consisting of
three conjoined pavilions, the largest building
material used was the glass windows which make
up the majority of the walls, giving this home
unparalleled views across the landscape. The
main environmental consideration was ensuring
the 60m-long house had minimal impact on the
surrounding land, so that “the house can’t be
seen by neighbours or from the public domain”,
states Roger. Built on such an exposed site, it
was important to provide protection. “As the trees
and other plants grow, the eff ects of the weather
have been tempered to a great degree,” he claims.
Architectural Design Roger Vidler
Builder STH Construction
Photography Ian ProvestPROJECTS
(^) // BUILDING
06: DESIGN LITTLE HARTLEY HOUSE
LOCATION BLUE MOUNTAINS,
NEW SOUTH WALES
With this house located in a bush-fi re prone
area of the Blue Mountains, it was imperative
its build could withstand the rough conditions
of its location. Shielded from the main road,
the home sits lightly on the land and features
a prefabricated lightweight roof construction,
insulated fl oor slab, solar hot water and a
double-insulated wall system to the west for
additional insulation benefi ts. Double-glazed,
openable windows were fi tted in accordance
with bush-fi re regulations, as was “a steel-clad
butterfl y roof with a central gutter linked to
the rainwater tank, fi tted with a screen and
fl ushing device to avoid potential lodging of
burning embers and leaves”, says Ruth Kealy of
Urban Possible Architects. A defi ning feature
of the residence, large sliding doors open the
house up and extend the living spaces out into
the surrounding environment. Clad in Corten
steel and recycled blackbutt timber, the home
merges with its rustic surroundings and will
continue to ‘weather’ gracefully over time.
Architectural Design Urban Possible
Architects (urbanpossible.com)
Builder Greenscape Constructions
(greenscapeconstructions.com.au)
Photography Tom Ferguson