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Issue 59 - The Life Outside Issue

Issue 59

The Life Outside Issue

Introducing the Life Outside issue of Habitus magazine. With life increasingly being absorbed into a digital space, there is never a more important moment to hold something tangible. In this context, the power of nature to have a physiological impact on our sense of wellbeing has never been more important. So how can we cultivate the benefits of the our natural environment in the most intimate of places – our homes? This was the question that helped to bring this issue of Habitus to life.

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Framing nature in architecture
HomesEditorial Team

Framing nature in architecture

Australia

A rugged and impressive drystone wall frames B.E. Architecture’s Whitehall Road Residence project.


Positioned at the crest of a hill the Whitehall Road Residence in Flinders takes advantage of sweeping views of the surrounding landscape, with a grove of mature gum trees informing the location of the house.

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An impressive drystone wall that runs the full length of the house frames the residence. Melbourne design studio B.E. Architecture has designed this set piece of the residence as being cut into the earth, at once anchoring the house and countering the exposure of the site.

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Following the length of the drystone wall, the house is built in a series of straight-lined pavilions. In a design that downplays the scale of the five-bedroom house, the pavilion aesthetic allows for a variety of outdoor, indoor and interstitial spaces.

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The character of house’s interstitial spaces is further emphasised through B.E. Architecture’s employment of fully retractable glazing and delicate cane screening.

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Stone, timber, glass and render serve as the dominant materials in the house’s construction. The weight and strength felt through the presence of stone, and the scale of the timber provide are offset through the juxtaposition of large expanses of glass featured throughout, and the natural grassy landscape the house finds itself in.

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This landscape can be fully enjoyed from the site, with sight lines being carefully coordinated with the glazing to properly reveal the vast beauty of the natural environment.

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B.E. Architecture
bearchitecture.com

 


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Issue 59 - The Life Outside Issue

Issue 59

The Life Outside Issue

Introducing the Life Outside issue of Habitus magazine. With life increasingly being absorbed into a digital space, there is never a more important moment to hold something tangible. In this context, the power of nature to have a physiological impact on our sense of wellbeing has never been more important. So how can we cultivate the benefits of the our natural environment in the most intimate of places – our homes? This was the question that helped to bring this issue of Habitus to life.

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