Elm & Willow House / Architects EAT
© James Coombe
Architects: Architects EAT
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Project Team: Albert Mo, James Coombe, Eid Goh
Structural Engineer: R. Bliem & Associates
Building Surveyor: Building Strategies
Builder: Sargant Construction
Landscaper: Heath Landscape
Project Area: 278 sqm
Project Year: 2007-2009
Construction Year: 2008-2009
Photographs: Earl Carter & James Coombe
This project involves restoration and alteration to the existing Edwardian house, and the demolition and construction at the rear of a new addition. The transparency and openness of the new part is a deliberate counterpoint to the introverted Edwardian house with its dark central corridor. Our intention was to create an “inside is outside is inside” environment, where inside and outside spaces were interchangeable elements. The project evokes a certain reference to the Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe, and many courtyard houses in Melbourne by McGlashan and Everist.
floor plan
The two mature Elm and Willow became the constraints to the project. They informed the arrangement of our new addition, and together with passive solar orientation the result is a U-shaped plan enclosing a north-facing courtyard.
© Earl Carter
The structure is suspended over the ground to avoid damaging the critical root zones of the two trees. The concrete floor and roof slabs are meticulously detailed, with significant input from our structural engineer, to appear and feel light, floaty and airy – a dialectic relationship between weight and material. This quality is enhanced by a skeletal structure of “skin and bones”, in which the non load-bearing glass sliding windows become a mere breathing skin between occupants and the outside world.
© Earl Carter
Internal planning strategies were devoted to the spatial hierarchy, through interplay of inner and outer, and sequencing of spaces. The link between the old and new is merged into the layering of spaces where inside and outside become one – the transparency of the borders separating interior and exterior allows the eye to perceive other elements that create the spatial order: fences, trees, stones, woods, clouds and borrowed landscape.
section 01
© Earl Carter
The addition has a passive ventilation system, whereby louver windows promote cross ventilation. The building materials specified are non-toxic and from renewable resources. The concrete structure provides thermal mass to the house with the slabs further insulated to minimise heat loss. All glazing is double-glazed to provide comfort to the interior, and the deciduous trees provide essential shading to the house during summer. Energy and water-saving fittings have been used throughout and rain water is harvested for use in the gardens. A new carport with grid-connect solar power panels is in the design process.
© James Coombe
It was a total of 3 years from the first meeting with the clients to the day they moved back into the house, during which the construction took 18 months. The clients found passion in designing their gardens and their first child was also born during construction. It is a house for enjoyment, living amongst the landscape with family, and the appreciation of tranquillity, intimacy and sanctuary – which were all part of the original brief.
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- floor plan
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looks so cool~~
Elm & Willow House / Architects EAT http://bit.ly/ceuxNk /cc @feedly
fantastic job! very simple and not boring
nightmare on elm and willow-
doctor farnsworth turns in her sleep…
agreed… and what’s the point in doing a Mies, if the floor-to-ceiling glazing opens up to a 6′ tall black fence?!
Wouldn’t it be nice if the new structure is detached not only from the ground, but also from the old house?
Fantastic-looking house.
the project doesn’t get better by showing tons of photographs from the same thing from all imaginable angles…
no isolation needed in australia?
that concrete roof slab will be radiating heat like even
Insulation?
Mies van der Rohe called, he wants hi- ah, never mind.
at lest the real-estate agent will have allot to talk about.
Elmm & Willow House / Architects EAT http://cli.gs/Dq3VX
Almost like living outdoors if you're stylish, hip and modern RT @archdaily: Elm & Willow House / Architects EAT http://archdai.ly/d1WhHr
I'd Live Here: Elm & Willow House. http://bit.ly/9QaXEZ
http://bit.ly/bqPbC1 — Napasite si oči na vrtu hiše restavrirane s konceptom, ki notranji in zunanji prostor prepleta v sinergično celoto.
Love it! But it only has 2 (gorgeous) bathrooms. / RT @nicholaspatten: I'd Live Here: Elm & Willow House. http://bit.ly/9QaXEZ
RT @Bartonian: Elmm & Willow House / Architects EAT http://cli.gs/Dq3VX
Elm & Willow House by Architects EAT http://bit.ly/bJoQYS #architecture #interiordesign #minimalism #australia *love it!!
RT @bluevertical: Elm & Willow House by Architects EAT http://bit.ly/bJoQYS #architecture #interiordesign #minimalism #australia *love it!!
RT @bluevertical Elm & Willow House by Architects EAT http://bit.ly/bJoQYS #architecture #interiordesign #minimalism #australia *love it!!
Very nice! Loving the bathroom too.
Can anyone shed some light on the dining table / chairs shown? – I must find them!
1:46 PM Sep 17th
http://www.archdaily.com/53162/elm-willow-house-architects-eat/
8:54 AM Sep 20th
縁側雰囲気っていうのかなこういうの。Elm & Willow House http://t.co/bJ1UT5u via @archdaily
11:41 PM Nov 16th
Posso morrer de amores por essa casa agora? http://t.co/9CM4RLs via @archdaily
9:07 AM Nov 18th
Το πόσο μ'αρέσει αυτό το σπίτι δεν περιγράφεται! http://t.co/0jYxDwaq
12:45 AM Jan 12th
Elm & Willow House / Architects EAT | ArchDaily http://t.co/YEOlp8iK via @archdaily