Responsive Integration – Billabong House by Architects Ink
Sitting proudly, Billabong House embraces the surrounding heritage-rich homes by acknowledging and responding to the existing urban fabric. Architects Ink pays dutiful homage in response to the established heights, proportions and scale of the neighbouring properties while respectfully engaging with the home’s natural setting.
Underneath an impressive over-scaled gabled silhouette, the functions of Billabong House are defined by an equally bold planning approach. Located in St Peters, in the inner east of Adelaide, the new form runs along a ledge in the landscape above a billabong. In a play of contrasts, the home’s design is clean and crisp against the surrounding organic natural elements. The area is one of the earlier suburbs of Adelaide and, as such, contains many period homes and residences on larger allotments. Architects Ink extends this legacy with the proposition of a home of equally grand proportions, yet with its own contemporary take on lifestyle.
The living spaces are divided into parallel gabled volumes, establishing a sense of balance and a reference to the symmetry of heritage homes. Wanting to sit appropriately in its surroundings, the formal elements of the home echo a traditional approach, while the junctions and detailing are of a more contemporary, innovative nature. Constructed predominately from in-situ concrete, the volumes are anchored in place, embodying a timeless solidity in form yet somehow feel light with their absence of detail and fuss.
Across the site, a choreography of compression and release flows within, where the ceiling undulates upward to create more light-filled spaces. Internally, a mirroring of the gabled roof sees the volumes unfold towards the billabong below, allowing the home to become a living canvas that captures the ebb and flow of the seasons. Connecting to the natural elements and embracing such a proximity to the water was an integral part of the brief for the owners, and the home needed to be designed around these core ideals. Meticulously crafted joinery is integrated throughout, disguising daily amenity. The result ensures the architecture remains the focus, with the other supporting elements hidden away.
The combination of elevated detailing and select finishes ensures daily rituals feel heightened. The sanctuary Architects Ink has created is one of enviable calm and simplicity, made ever more so with the direct interaction with natural delights just beyond.