The Hill Plains House
IMAGES COURTESY DEREK SWALWELL
Many Australian architects design contemporary houses with a new level of opulence. Like a resort, domestic designs might include a fully equipped media room, en suite bathrooms with spa-style fittings, stone benchtops, marble tiles and a swimming pool with an infinity feature.
Hill Plains House, however, returns to basics. Designed by Collingwood-based Wolveridge Architects, the award-winning home celebrates nature in its careful siting and its emphasis on indoor/outdoor living.
“The house is an appropriate response to the environment,” says Jeremy Wolveridge, the principal architect and the home’s owner. “It’s unmistakeably informed by a barn, which is a Victorian-era, agricultural building that is reasonably low cost and compact.”
Modelled on a shed plan, Hill Plains House incorporates essential ecologically sustainable elements such as rainwater capture and storage, concrete slab floors, solar energy panels and passive heating and cooling. And although it’s made of a low, blackbutt timber, like all new buildings in the Kyneton region it has been built to comply with the state’s bushfire building regulations.
The Hills Plains House
IMAGES COURTESY DEREK SWALWELL
Wolveridge was introduced to the land in 2008, when clients asked him to design a modern dwelling. After his clients opted for a sea change, Wolveridge purchased the land with the hope of creating a “weekend getaway”.
“It’s really quite a raw piece of land,” says Wolveridge. “It’s just one of those places you can go to and leave it all behind. You really feel like you can switch off up there and for such an elevated piece of land it’s very private.”
Perhaps the privacy is a result of the unassuming façade. Rich-coloured timber panels with large, timber shutters suggest a robust, fortress-like structure. And the striking sheets of black glass that shield the entry and frame a shower stall, provide an effective contrast.
Inside is a completely different flavour. High ceilings, dark, polished concrete floors, black walls, reclaimed timber wallpaper all represent Wolveridge’s confidence and understanding of organic materials.
It’s the honesty of the materials and the explicitness of construction that won Wolveridge the 2011 Premier Award for Interior Design Excellence and Innovation.
“We always wanted the interior to have a connection with the exterior so we consciously chose not to use any domestic products in the house. There are no tiles and no plaster. It’s all steel, a bit of mirror, concrete and recycled timbers.”
Since it’s completion and the recent birth of his second child, Wolveridge has been living in Hill Plains House and commuting to Melbourne. He says it has been a great experiment enabling him to discover unique ways to approach sustainability.
“We haven’t had to run the heating for the last two days because there has been such nice sunshine. And at night we have been sitting around in a T-shirt.”
The Hills Plains House
IMAGES COURTESY DEREK SWALWELL
Wolveridge has been interested in architecture for as long as he can remember. Growing up in Mount Eliza, he remembers becoming intrigued by his own home.
“I grew up in a 1950s beach house. It was a very interesting building because it was all kinds of different triangular shapes. It was cold in the winter and hot in the summer but we loved it all the same.”
When young Jeremy was growing up, his father Michael Wolveridge, a well-regarded golf course architect, often took him out to civil construction sites. This enabled him to develop a good understanding of land form, which has particularly assisted his work on coastal
and rural sites where land conditions are often challenging.
“Essentially you’re always trying to find a really nice connection between the house and site. And through my background, I have a knowledge of things like drainage and how to work slope and contour to your advantage.”
Tannery and Boot Factory
IMAGES COURTESY DEREK SWALWELL
Wolveridge’s career began with study in architecture at Deakin University at Waurn Ponds in Geelong. After graduating, he worked in a “no shoes” environment in Port Douglas before moving to London, where he was responsible for the design of large-scale, commercial projects. The two very different experiences proved to be a solid grounding for his own business.
In 2000, Wolveridge opened his own practice in a small office in Richmond. The first project, the Richmond Warehouse, still remains one of his favourites.
“There were all these problems with its orientation, privacy and heritage, but the clients were this really interesting young couple. So we did a complete refurbishment and fit-out and it looked great.”
After completing a string of smaller boutique residences, Wolveridge’s practice began to expand. Fortunately a 19th-century tannery and boot factory came on the market.
Although it was covered in dust, a result of years of vacancy, Wolveridge could see the original structure was still intact. Baltic pine floors, lofty ceilings with large trusses and wood-framed, Victorian-era windows all provided a wonderful canvas.
Tannery and Boot Factory
IMAGES COURTESY DEREK SWALWELL
“One of the principles of the design was to dissect the space, break it up, but not ruin it,” says Wolveridge. “We wanted it to still feel like a big warehouse, so that’s why this service core runs right through the middle.”
While keeping the original shell, Wolveridge successfully merged vintage materials with modernist design. Old floorboards are used as internal wall cladding. Window frames are constructed from recycled oregon and the desks and bookcases are made from a black form ply. Even the studio’s massive work table is a recycled and modified truck engine packing crate. The result is a stylish, relaxed working environment with a sense of instant history.
“With our firm, the main thing is that each project has relevance to where it is,” says Wolveridge. “As we embark upon larger development projects with bigger pieces of land and a bigger range of problems, this will continue to be the core speciality of our design.”
Although Wolveridge’s connection to the land is uncanny, it’s the client relationship he values most.
It’s evident from his relaxed, approachable manner that his clients value his work.
“Architecture is a very long-term process,” says Wolveridge. “We might be sitting across the table talking about a brief for a project but it’s going to be two years before we can have a few beers and a barbecue at the new place.
Tannery and Boot Factory
IMAGES COURTESY DEREK SWALWELL
“The main thing is to always provide good service and delivery because once you get a client, you want them for life. You want to know that if they ever do another project, they only need to make one call.”
» www.wolveridge.com.au
The Hill Plains House
Winning the Premiere Award for Interior Design Excellence and Innovation, the house is a different perspective on the traditional rural Australian home. The jury stated: “Use of materials and lighting in the project represent a confident interior design philosophy that achieves regional identity and connection in a fresh and unprecedented way.” The jury also praised the project’s environmental credentials, noting its discreet incorporation of sustainable design principles without resorting to a traditional eco aesthetic.
Tannery and Boot Factory
The interior and exterior successfully blends contemporary fixtures within the existing form. While many original features have been retained, recycled materials and other new elements have been incorporated to create a dynamic and relaxed environment. The project won the Abode magazine’s 2010 heritage building of the year award and was shortlisted at the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Awards.