Inhabiting the Shadows – Erskine River House by Kerstin Thompson Architects

In Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s 1933 essay In Praise of Shadows, the Japanese author wrote that “in making for ourselves a place to live, we first spread a parasol to throw a shadow on the earth, and in the pale light of the shadow we put together a house.” Not only has this essay been a key longstanding reference for Kerstin Thompson Architects but this line encompasses Kerstin’s approach to designing Erskine River House for photographer Sharyn Cairns – a fellow admirer of Tanizaki’s work – near Victoria’s coastal township
of Lorne.

Kerstin and Sharyn first met documenting the practice’s project House at Hanging Rock. It resonated deeply with Sharyn and, years later, informed her decision to work with Kerstin in designing her own rural home. Consequently, there are intentional similarities between the two projects; as Kerstin says fondly, this house is “a relative of [House at Hanging Rock] in terms of its light and material qualities.” Similarities there may be, yet Erskine River House presents as a tailored response to client and context as well as a reflection of a meaningful rapport between inhabitant and architect.

As Kerstin Thompson says, “it was more about a quality or a sensibility rather than an amount of space, so that became the driving force – getting the right spirit or feel and ensuring we could achieve the promise of the drawings through the development of the project.”

Located on a north-facing ridge amid dense bushland, the structure sits heavily on the site. Conceived as a place of seclusion and security, the home’s exterior is intentionally blunt, and its size deliberately compact. As Kerstin reflects, Sharyn was “delightfully open” with her brief but decisive in her pursuit for something small. “It was more about a quality or a sensibility rather than an amount of space, so that became the driving force – getting the right spirit or feel and ensuring we could achieve the promise of the drawings through the development of the project.”

Sharyn echoes this sentiment, saying, “I wanted an intimate place where I could go to be quiet, sit and enjoy nature.” As well as this, she instinctively views architecture through a photographer’s lens and, as such, was drawn to ideas of simplicity and clarity. “It was about creating clean lines and removing excess, so that the composition was calm and easy to read.”

Constructed from precast concrete panels, there is a pleasing repetition in the rudimentary form resulting in a notable clarity of intent. The northern elevation is broken by large panes of glass, which retract completely, opening the internal space to the landscape and valley below. As Kerstin explains, the house is both a “bunker and verandah”, which can be “tightly closed or loosely open” depending on the season. “It can sit at both ends of the spectrum and always feel right,” she offers. When open, retractable mesh screens provide shade, mitigate embers and insects – two challenges of rural bushfire zones – and offer an additional sense of security. Cleverly, the height of these openings sits significantly lower than the roofline, tempering the high summer sun and making space for shadows.

“Fisher & Paykel knew the idea here was to create a minimal and calm space with nothing jarring, so they recommended products in line with that notion,” Sharyn Cairns says of the kitchen.

The interior exists in pleasing harmony with the exterior; however, there is an element of surprise – as Kerstin says, “from the outside, it’s a very neat, blunt little box, and you have no sense of its internal qualities.” Inside, the long, narrow structure is divided into five separate nooks – two for sleeping, one for eating, another for living and a final for bathing. The back wall of each nook sweeps around in a generous curve, encasing the occupant and directing the view outwards past the flat, northern elevation. “I used to say to Sharyn, ‘it’s a building that has your back’. It’s looking out for her and holding her against that very beautiful environment,” Kerstin shares. Along the front, a corridor stretches the length of the structure, linking the spaces and enhancing the sense of openness and ease that hums ever so gently through this building.

It is an intelligent floor plan that not only captures the fundamental functional aspects of the brief but leans heavily into Sharyn’s affinity for a toned-down interiority. There is a sense that everything has a place; joinery components have been considered in relation to the structure and, as a result, they recede into the form. Even the kitchen, which is typically a busy, domestic space, elegantly abates thanks to floor-to-ceiling spotted gum doors that conceal and reveal its inner workings. Aside from an island bench with a single sink and a compact adjoining dining table, there is little else that denotes this space’s inherent function, and so Sharyn’s preference for an “unconventional kitchen” has been realised. “Rather than a noisy space, this feels like a space to live in,” she offers.

When the kitchen is in use, the timber doors retract to reveal a minimal workspace conceived in black steel and ceramic with complementary appliances. In selecting these pieces, Sharyn gravitated towards Fisher & Paykel for its design-led products, sharp space-saving solutions and streamlined aesthetic – all values inherent to Erskine River House. “Fisher & Paykel knew the idea here was to create a minimal and calm space with nothing jarring, so they recommended products in line with that notion.” The sleek Induction Cooktop, Integrated Rangehood and Oven meet the architect’s design intent and allow for a high level of usability, and the Integrated DishDrawer is a seamless compartment of the island bench. When the kitchen is ‘closed’, all the appliances – including the Integrated Refrigerator and Freezer – are neatly concealed behind timber, giving this nook space to breathe and reprioritising light and nature as a part of the experience.

It is an intelligent floor plan that not only captures the fundamental functional aspects of the brief but leans heavily into Sharyn’s affinity for a toned-down interiority.

The textural qualities explored in the kitchen can be found throughout the rest of the home; for example, in the laundry, a Fisher & Paykel Washing Machine and Dryer are concealed behind spotted gum joinery, resulting in a space that is both utilitarian and composed. The simplified
material palette and consistently dark, muted tones lead this narrative. Yet unsurprisingly, chiaroscuro – the artistic study of light and shade – plays a significant role, too. “As well as the windows all along the northern façade, which look towards the bush and down the hill, there are ventilation hatches in the walls and little skylights, and as a result, light marks time across the concrete surfaces; it’s a big part of this home’s beauty and joy,” Kerstin shares.

Erskine River House is many things – a place to appreciate the quietude of the natural environment, an informed architectural response to site, and, perhaps most pertinently, a canvas upon which shadows play. This performance of silhouettes takes shape every day to varying degrees of intensity, rendering this structure an elegant interpretation of Tanizaki’s parasol and a beautiful place to live.