Invermay House is home to a family of six who recently relocated from Ireland to regional Victoria. Cantilevering out over hillside, the house takes in extensive views over the township of Ballarat in western Victoria, Australia.
“We initially wanted to elevate the living spaces so that the clients could access views over a line of trees. But given their European background, the clients preferred to have the bedrooms on the upper floor and living spaces on the ground floor”. said Moloney Architects Principal, Mick Moloney.
“So rather than going above the canopy, we extended the building out over the hillside to peak out past the line of existing trees. The result is a dramatic 5.5m cantilever that allows the owners to enjoy the view whilst keeping the living spaces at ground level and closely connected to the landscape”.
Essentially a simple rectilinear form, the house is orientated with its long side facing north to allow direct natural light access to the living spaces and bedrooms. Service spaces - such as the laundry and circulation hallways - are situated on the south side of the building and feature operable windows to promote passive ventilation.
Allowing cool breezes in and moving air around the house was a priority to reduce the need for air conditioning in summer. The design uses ceiling fans and void spaces to promote air movement and operable skylights to allow hot air to exit through the roof.
The building is clad in a limited palette of horizontal timber cladding, split-face concrete block, and board-marked ‘off-form’ concrete. The materials are arranged to create continuous horizontal and vertical panels – separated by bands of windows. The effect is a strong geometric composition that uses the weight of the concrete to visually anchor the design to the hillside.
The house is located in a bushfire prone area, which dictated the use of naturally fire resistant Blackbutt window frames and Spotted Gum cladding. “We chose these timbers due to their natural bushfire resistance. Also as they grey off they will start to reflect the grey tones of the surrounding bushland”, said Moloney.
