A Balancing Act – Colo Crossings by Benn and Penna Architects
Neatly topping its peaked site, Colo Crossings works as a series of forms which respond to the undulating terrain. Benn and Penna Architects has woven the natural environment with the built form, balancing the rough and raw with the contained to create a home that is unique to, yet in unison with, the landscape.
Located in Colo River, 100 kilometres north-west of Sydney, Colo Crossings sits deliberately darkened amongst the mottled greens of the surrounding landscape as both a disguised and respectful insertion. Its position at the top of a steeply sloping hill ensures optimum views are captured from all internal areas, as well as from a dedicated outdoor room. The home was imagined as a retreat away from the urban context and ensuring its immersion amongst the natural environment was an essential part of that narrative. Resulting, the forms bookend a protected internal courtyard with a plunge pool, exposed to the sky above and with grand vistas to either side.
Built by Underhill Constructions, Mountain Gum Constructions and Craig Miller Builders, Colo Crossings draws on a rural lightness in its construction and compositional elements. Primarily comprised of shipping container units linked by a glass passageway, the form and silhouette feel fitting for the location. There are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an open plan living, kitchen and dining area. These spaces are arranged to encourage movement, allowing occupants to traverse cyclically through the house according to the changing time of the day and weather patterns.
While rudimentary, there is a generosity in the spatial experience, lifted in large part by the internal courtyard with plunge pool. It is both a functional space and a focal point which can be viewed from most pockets. The experience of this home is also amplified by the consideration for vistas; sightlines carry directly through the house and highlight the landscape’s presence. The interaction between the form and the landscape derives from a philosophy suggesting that the built form should sitting gently on, and interact effortlessly with, the existing environment.
As its own protected outpost, Colo Crossings is an idyllic escape. Benn and Penna Architects has utilised the humble and efficient structure of the shipping container to craft a unique and celebrated place of retreat.
