A House Made of Glass – Salmon Residence by FGR Architects in partnership with Thermeco

Exploring the opposing dynamics of bold concrete and delicate glass, Salmon Residence is a contemporary family home projected as a statement celebration of light and materiality. FGR Architects and Thermeco have partnered to create a refined two-storey home of alluring appeal.

Located in the lush and leafy Melbourne suburb of Essendon, Salmon Residence stands as a modern reinterpretation of a family home. Its raw and textured form stems inspiration from its surrounding landscape – speaking to broader brutalist design – and is felt from the moment upon entry. The front courtyard sits nestled underneath the home’s concrete façade. “It’s fairly brutal,” explains Feras Raffoul, Director at FGR Architects, when describing the volume of the structure upon arrival. The calming entry courtyard houses a pond and tree, “then the door opens up and then the wow hits you from there,” he says.

The windows appear to disintegrate the barrier between outside and interior worlds.

The entire terrain of the site drops approximately three metres from the front to back, which is attended to by FGR Architects through segments within the home. Feras explains, “the whole idea was, as a young family, kids could be there and the parents could be entertaining, but the sound transfer is not going straight through the home.” This drop in site also allowed the living spaces to have high ceilings, further adding to the ambiance and space within the glass enclosed area.

Salmon Residence is made whole through its balance of materials. Concrete acts as “the backbone” of the home – seen through its use in the kitchen bench, flooring, external façade and paving – and “this provides a beautiful base for vegetation to grow on it, for furniture, artwork,” Feras reflects. Elements such as the timber staircase contribute to soften the harshness of the cool concrete, however, this is most greatly achieved by the glass windows provided by Thermeco. “The importance of concrete and glazing here is vital,” Feras says, “and the detailing of that was very important to get right.”

Elements such as the timber staircase attempt to soften the harshness of the cool concrete, however, this is most greatly achieved by the glass windows provided by Thermeco.

“FGR approached us at the design stage of this project and wanted to really push the limit and see what we could achieve with our product,” describes Carl Costabile, Managing Director Thermeco. “We believe that the window system shouldn’t really be a limitation on the design intent.” The expanse of glass within Salmon Residence sits alongside the concrete form, allowing a strong connection between the internal and external spaces to endure, in a constant dance to unify opposing forces. “We really rely on contractors like Thermeco to be able to execute the vision that we have,” Feras explains. “At no point were they against the large expanse of glass, the stackable doors and back then, not many people were doing this.”

The windows appear to disintegrate the barrier between outside and interior worlds. Including the large expanse of glass walls, Thermeco also installed an almost eight-metre wide four-panel opening in the living room – all positioned in black steel frames to match the home’s overall aesthetic. With energy efficient glazing, the glass lures the sunlight inside, changing the experience of the internal spaces, softening the tonality and allowing greenery and landscaping to become part of the interior conversations. The windows “should be seamless and incorporated into the home,” says Carl, “and feel like part of the home.”

Salmon Residence emits an authenticity in its endeavour to celebrate both the heaviness of concrete and the elegant grace of glass. FGR Architects balances this push and pull of opposing materials through a dynamic design, meaningfully executed by Thermeco.