A Home for a View – Golden Vale by J Mammone Architecture

Resulting directly from first impressions of the site, Golden Vale by J Mammone Architecture carves an articulated built form full of reference to its immediate environment. Designed for a professional couple with love of photography and nature, Golden Vale acts as a retreat from urban life. Paramount to the considered brief was the relationship between built form and site, achieving a clearly identifiable home with respect for its surroundings.

Consisting of a series of extruded masses, the home spirals a full 360 degrees around a central axis, maximising outlook in all directions. Solid rammed earth blade walls define the concise program of the residence, reminiscent of formations in the encircling escarpments, at once offering separation and interconnection between adjacent rooms. Further enhancing the articulated form, planning encourages solar orientation and gain into each space while simultaneously providing unique views. Large glazed openings are coupled with smaller framed views to allow a delicate balance of shelter and openness to the environment beyond.

Consisting of a series of extruded masses, the home spirals a full 360 degrees around a central axis.

The central building mass houses communal living spaces oriented to take advantage of the distant hills, with large full-height operable glazing opening seamlessly to the outdoors. Surfaces are kept deliberately uncluttered, so as not to compete, flowing from inside out. The main bedroom is east facing, positioned away from all other areas. Turning towards the expansive landscape, it soaks up early morning light, tracking the path of the sun, down hills and across the valley floor. The same care in outlook is afforded to each space, prioritising planning rationale and ideal view over more standard approaches, resulting in a building that reveals itself in considered moments special to each space.

Materials are selected for their ability to echo natural site features; dark peeling bark is referenced through charred timber cladding and distinct escarpment striations are translated into grey-toned rammed earth walls with movement and tactility. The deep-shaded canopy of surrounding bushland is reinterpreted through warm, yet deep internal colour tones seen in exposed timber ceilings and natural dolomite features, with veining evoking memories of walking paths across the landscape. Careful application of these materials sees a moody intimacy embodied within the home, creating a form that concurrently sits proudly and yet recedes into the landscape, a balanced juxtaposition of refuge and exposure.

Materials are selected for their ability to echo natural site features.

J Mammone Architecture has created a tactile, cohesive and refreshingly compact home, made from a series of spaces that reveal their composition slowly, ensuring the view outward is always at the forefront of the experience. As unique in form as it is in outlook, Golden Vale is a counterpoint in its surroundings, while remaining firmly grounded in the landscape.