Heart of glass

Houses often celebrate the passions of their owners sometimes it's an exterior detail that offers an early clue.

This house, by architect Heather McKinney, responds to several requirements. To achieve an upscale, traditional look in keeping with the neighbouring houses, the design had to have steep roofs in tile or metal and be built completely in masonry or stucco, says McKinney.

"These needs were set against the owner's request for a more contemporary residence that would show off her glass collection and be a light and private place to live."

The house also had to be on one level and easy to maintain, so it would be user friendly for the owner in years to come.

"We designed the home as a long central mass with connected square corner pavilions," says McKinney. "Each element has a peaked metal roof, with low, flat roofs connecting them. The H-shaped plan enfolds a courtyard at the front and another to the rear."

From the street, the single-storey residence projects the required profile and sits quietly amongst the other mainly two-level structures in the subdivision. The private front yard offers a buffer, while the rear yard is a sheltered space for the swimming pool.

The front wall and garage are in cross-sawn limestone block, but away from public scrutiny, most facades are in horizontal glazed panels, echoing the orientation of the greater structure.

The panes have a Mondrian-like pattern that also calls to mind the balanced tranquillity of a Japanese shoji screen. In keeping with this idea, stepping stones lead up to a tall sliding front door set in a larger panel of the same ipe wood.

A colourful glass artwork doubles as a front door pull, providing an inkling of what is to come. But it is not until the door rolls back that the jewelled nature of the interior is revealed.

"From the entry you can look left along a long gallery or straight ahead to the open-plan interior," says McKinney. "With the central core and pavilions largely in glass, there are myriad vistas out through one facade and in again via another, creating a beautiful layered effect."

For privacy, the streetside facade includes panes in varying degrees of translucency, while clear glazing to the rear allows a view of the master suite on one corner, the covered porch at the other and the pool in between.

"The light and translucent ambience suits the glass displayed within it," says McKinney.

Kitchen, dining area and living spaces are all open plan but deftly positioned display cabinets channel the views and bring a degree of area-to-area privacy.

"The display cabinets are in stained wenge at the base and painted white above this. The dark timber grounds the cabinetry, while the white upper elements create a floating effect that augments the airy feel of the house."

To avoid overwhelming guests with the sight of too many objects at once, the architect designed the alcoves so that some are viewed from one side of the cabinet, some from the other side, and some from both directions.

The long volume of the central structure has a bite taken out of it, creating an external niche in which to display sculpture in the future. As a result, the interior narrows at this point, which is the location of a dining space defined by the front and back walls. A dropped ceiling, in the same rich tones of ipe seen at the entry, brings an air of intimacy to the area. This is divided in two, with task lighting set between the panels.

"The layout means the dining area is also used a through passage when moving from the living area to the kitchen," says McKinney.

Overall, the material palette is kept simple. The light, open exterior walls are grounded by the solid, low-maintenance concrete floors seen in most areas of the home.

"The house was also considered in terms of climate," says the architect. "Concrete floors stay cool underfoot year round, operable glass panes bring cross ventilation, and while solar panels are not permitted at this time, the house was designed with longer roof sections facing south, so it is now solar-ready."

Story by: Charles Moxham