03 Material choices are simple
yet rich and encapsulate
the architects’ sense
for detail.
wall at the boundary line, creating a new front garden containing
silver birches and more geometric tree specimens that complement
the architecture.
With those key moves in place, the interior of the dwelling was
completely reconsidered and re-finished, including the replacement
of all windows and doors. The palette employed is studied and
neutral, but with some intriguing elements of darkness. Greys,
dusty eucalyptus-like green-greys, a slightly blue charcoal and
whites all figure. It is a somewhat masculine palette on paper, but
much softer and more accessible in the flesh, with liberal use of
timber and soft fabrics throughout. The combination of ample
access to daylight and the warmth of the timber, juxtaposed with
some fine furniture pieces, including the owner’s original dining
table, gives the interior a slightly Scandinavian tone.
The gardens, both front and rear, have also been transformed.
Neil Architecture undertakes its own hard landscape design, and
as such the interior and exterior spaces are tightly integrated and
of a kind. At the rear of the dwelling the original pool has been
re-decked but is otherwise intact. The colour of the exterior walls
is a satisfyingly dark charcoal/gunmetal colour, one that, like the
dark-stained timber boards on the street facade, the client initially
wavered on; thankfully David held firm and the result in each
location is visually strong and robust.
Pervading the design is a keen sense of detail, applied in a way
that is both accessible and matter-of-fact. This potentially comes
from David’s previous professional life, working on residential
projects with Melbourne architectural practice John Wardle
Architects. Nevertheless, David has made his stylistic moves
his own; there are no virtuosic detailing “solos” in this overall
composition. Materials are certainly allowed to sing out loud –
timber, stone and fabrics are used in a way that expresses their
richness and materiality – but nothing is unduly clamouring for
attention or expressed through overtly architectural detailing. This
sense of understatement seems fitting, and it appears to suit the
owners, one of whom reported in my visit that she finds her house a
deeply relaxing place to be.
As a measure of success, this is high praise. What David and
his team have achieved is a generational house, one that will stand
the test of time mostly by virtue of its simplicity and its clean,
understated style.03