Animated Coastal – Four Ages by Killing Matt Woods Design
Through the use of an animated and curiously warm palette, Four Ages aims to reclassify the traditional and expected coastal abode. Killing Matt Woods transforms an existing structure with an infusion of natural light, drawing connections to the site and surrounds.
Forming the first instalment of a series of renovation works, Four Ages is the journey of a home from its inherited dark previous self into a light-filled, luminous home for its family of four. Transforming the existing into an open and connected series of spaces, the new works aim to meld the original with the new to reflect a considered and contemporary way of living with as little intervention as possible. As a reference to its namesake, the Four Ages of Greek mythology are expressed through materiality and their subtle interconnections within the home. Killing Matt Woods proposes an approach that combines the necessary with the refined, resulting in a uniquely personal reflection of its owners.
Infusing a warmth at its core, Four Ages is built by Green Anvil Co. and draws on an approach of considered elements and gestures. The original scheme was reduced in scope and subsequently staged to ensure the implementation over time and to sooner maximise the potential of the site as it was. While the overall home feels open and light, similar to the expected coastal aesthetic, it carves its own identity through the inclusion of metallic elements, usually avoided in such settings. Representing the ‘Four Ages of Man’, the Golden, Iron, Silver and Bronze Ages are all felt in various ways, elevating moments within the home. The lightness reflects the Golden Age, the use of black steel framework represents the Iron Age, the selection of stainless-steel fixtures being the Silver, and nuanced amber features represent the Bronze.
While the home previously was absent of cues connecting it to the surrounds, the series of insertions deliberately speak to and respond to the coastal siting in Avoca on the south coast of New South Wales, where the home resides. Focusing on the experience of the home and crafting that through detailed junctions and custom elements, the home, and in particular its interior, capture a way of life and connection to place. The more openly shared spaces reflect a lightness and are emphasised through more generous proportions, while the retreat areas of solitude are warmer and more immersive, increasing the feeling of introspection.
