PINNACLE DESIGN

A large, empty rural site leaves plenty of scope for designing an expansive home. But when the surrounding environment is this picturesque, any new building needs to be carefully designed or risk becoming a blot on the landscape.

The owners of this rural alpine property wanted a peaceful three-bedroom retreat. Their brief called for two living areas, an open-plan kitchen and dining area, a study and a home theatre. They also wanted each bedroom to have a bathroom.

With so many rooms, the resulting design could easily have become monolithic against the backdrop of vast wetland and rolling hills.

While it may be visually pleasing, the wetland presents a difficult building environment. Foundations had to be specially built to allow for the high water table. Although the home is actually on solid ground, the wetland is just steps away.

Architect Edwin Elliott's design divides the home into three buildings connected by glazed corridors. The three forms are laid out so that the entire home cannot be immediately discerned from any one angle resulting in a much smaller impact on the site.

"This house is about the relationship to the landscape, as well as connecting the three forms and the vistas together," he says.

The curved, barn-like form is the master wing. The central structure with its peaked roof contains the main living area and the third building holds the double garage and guest wing. The front entry is located between the casual living area and the guest wing.

The owners wanted the interior to be quite minimal. Walls have been painted an alabaster tone, so they take nothing away from the mountain views. Each window frames a vista, and the windows all tend to have interesting shapes.

"The changing weather and the shape of the windows create interesting patterns of sunlight and shadow particularly in the master bedroom, because the windows follow the shape of the roof," says Elliott.

Story by: Trendsideas