Enclosed in charcoal-hued timber batons, the traditional wrap-around verandah is reconceptualised into a modern typology for a nature-loving family. Located in Canberra, they wanted their Duffy Street home to engage with the surrounding landscape — the bushland at the rear of the block, and the distant views to the Brindabella Mountains to the west. Equally, the interiors were to be light-filled, functional and richly textural.
“The design responded to these requests by providing the living spaces at the upper level where views to the surrounding bush are clearest and where access to northern sun is plentiful,” says Ben Walker, director of Ben Walker Architects.
On this upper level, a wraparound verandah can be left open to the vistas or moderated with operable external screens, allowing the family to engage with or withdraw from the public realm. Shade screens can also be adjusted to mitigate the hot western summer sun while providing a rippling, patterned shadow play across the interior throughout the day. Up on the verandah — which opens effortlessly into the open-plan kitchen, dining and living — the top floor feels like a pavilion floating in the surrounding bushland.
“The joinery at the upper-floor level that sits between the kitchen, dining, living and study spaces has been left low and partly open so each room can ‘borrow’ some of the volume and light from the adjacent spaces,” reveals Walker.
“This was a deliberate design strategy included from early stages of the project, but the built outcome is even more joyful and generous than expected… there is always some level of visual engagement with the bushland irrespective of where you are sitting.”
Additionally, a series of soaring heights within the plan maximises natural light. Over the living room, a full-length, high-level, north-facing sawtooth window brings volume and northern sunlight into the heart of the home. Meanwhile, in the entry, a two-storey courtyard over the main entry, bathes the main bedroom with light and adds a moment of architectural wonder open to the sky.
Lined with ply and recycled Blackbutt boards, the warming textured surfaces continue from the floors to walls and ceilings, with hand-blown glass light pendants by the client’s sister offering artful touches.
“The warm tones and beautiful grain profile of the timber seems to be a logical and obvious fit within the adjacent forests,” says Walker.
On the floors, travertine and honed concrete offer hard-wearing qualities and continue the natural finishes. Insulated concrete slab flooring provides thermal mass to aid passive heating, and the upper-floor walls are double-framed and highly insulated. And downstairs, a subtle nod to Canberra’s mid-century aesthetics comes through in the elongated concrete blocks.
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To create a seamless flow between the interiors and the wrap-around verandah, the build required careful fabrication of the perimeter steel beam that supports the large movable screens. “It needed to be very precise,” says Walker. “The team needed to give particular attention to ensure that everything was properly coordinated. They did a wonderful job achieving the desired outcome of crisp, neat junctions.”
The success of Duffy Street centres on the effortless experience of moving from the home to the outdoors, watching the sunsets over the Brindabella Mountains from the verandah, elevating everyday living. Ben Walker Architects has made a home sympathetic to its environment and, importantly, its inhabitants.
