Grey House by Adam Kane Architects

Rarely does a residential project present the depth of opportunity for experimental innovation as that embodied by the refined solitude of Grey House.

Designed by Adam Kane Architects as a rural residence for the eponymous architect and his family, the home offers a place of retreat, an experience of rejuvenating introspection, nestled within a lush and verdant garden.

For Kane, Grey House is a project underpinned by the ideals of escapism; a break away from the reality and routine of a life in Melbourne to an inland retreat set amid a natural landscape. He uses a vocabulary of emotive words – calm and quiet prevalent among them – to describe an impassioned vision for the design of his own home, carried out as an experimental process of making “sculpture without conceding to conventional functionality”.

The solitude of the home is arguably defined in two parts. The first; a site abundant in natural features, facilitates the second; a building composed of pure volumes, refined detailing and a material palette so minimal that it appears as if the spaces have been carved from a single, solid, grey mass. “It’s a strong design,” says Kane of the unapologetic commitment to the minimalism of the home. “I wanted to take it to the next level.” Here, boundaries are pushed, conformity is rejected and customisation is leveraged at every moment necessary to achieve considered detailing in service to a holistic cohesion.

Grey House is a project underpinned by the ideals of escapism; a break away from the reality and routine of a life in Melbourne to an inland retreat set amid a natural landscape.

To achieve his vision of restorative calm, Kane needed a site capable of supporting a curated and abundant garden within which his retreat could be embedded. In the foothills of Victoria’s Great Dividing Range, a landscape of lush vegetation (owing to the rate of rainfall) aligns with the narrative of Grey House. Located within a valley, the topography of the site supports enclosure and privacy without limiting visual connectivity to the land. The building sits nestled between several planted embankments, which, when viewed from within, extends beyond the occupants’ field of view in a seemingly infinite sprawling gardenscape radiating from the home at its centre.

Appearing as a single monolithic mass anchored confidently in place, Grey House is bold for a house within a rural context. The home presents as a cluster of pure volumes arranged in a low, linear composition, which appears effortless in its navigation of the undulating terrain and surrounding vegetation. The home is refined in tone and form to the point of being a sculpture, set within a peaceful and idyllic garden in service to Kane’s idea of the ‘metaphorical forest’.

Appearing as a single monolithic mass anchored confidently in place, Grey House is bold for a house within a rural context.

“The floorplan provides a new garden outlook in each direction,” Kane explains, adding that the landscaping becomes a sort of artwork that changes throughout the day and with the seasons, juxtaposing the monochrome building with colour and vibrancy. This vibrancy animates the calming minimalism of the interior spaces as a critical part of the overarching design strategy to facilitate rest, recovery and rehabilitation with nature. Every moment that invites the exterior environment into the spaces of the home has been considered in detail and intricately managed to maximise the restorative power of the land.

The monochrome nature of the exterior is folded inwards as if to suggest this building is carved from a single material. The floor plan meanders from space to space like a canyon of polished grey plaster carrying occupants into various experiences of enclosure. Moving through the home is a process of discovery; apertures gradually increase in size with curated views to the gardens beyond. Kane speaks with pride in the design outcome: “It’s not just a glass box with everything revealed all at once. It’s an experience.”

The landscaping becomes a sort of artwork that changes throughout the day and with the seasons, juxtaposing the monochrome building with colour and vibrancy.

Every part of Grey House has been interrogated, analysed and distilled down to a highly refined material palette. All surfaces within the home – walls and ceilings, doors and joinery – are finished with a grey polished plaster matching the tone of the polished concrete floor. From time to time, the plastered volumes are interrupted with custom stainless-steel joinery, hand scoured to introduce a softness and textural warmth in these occasional elements. The considered alignment of each of these components within the sharp collection of plastered walls is almost surgical in execution and alludes to the limitless number of other considered elements expertly designed and concealed throughout the building.

The commitment to the geometric purity and tonal consistency of Grey House suggests that the home is primarily speculative and theoretical, with an emphasis on artistic qualities over functionality. As a collection of monochromatic spaces composed around curated experiences of a gardenscape in flux, Adam Kane Architects has realised this house as a place of introspective retreat. The coordination of colour and tone, alignment and concealment, light and shadow, underpins a design strategy defined by low stimulation and high relaxation. While appearing effortless, the level of detail and development involved in the creation of Grey House culminates in a striking example of confident, refined and completely uncompromised minimalism.

Architecture and interior design by Adam Kane Architects. Build by Hardwick Build Co. Venetian Plaster and Microcement by Carlier & Co.

As a collection of monochromatic spaces composed around curated experiences of a gardenscape in flux, Adam Kane Architects has realised this house as a place of introspective retreat.