Hidden and Protected – Hide House by MRTN Architects

Resembling a traditional bird watching hide, Hide House tucks its occupants away into a fire-resistant encasing shell, looking outwards and protected from the elements. MRTN Architects takes reference from the site’s topography and proposes a sweeping form that optimises views and a connection to place.

Sitting elevated over expansive plains, Hide House is located in Venus Bay and sits amongst soft undulating sand dunes. The sweeping form allows the predominant winds to brush past the home with ease, responding to the terrain in a unique way and directing views outward. In the same way as bird or animal hide allows a safe and protected passage from which to engage with nature, the home is conceived from a similar origin, allowing owners and guests to feel immersed without feeling revealed to the elements. The combined use of textural and natural timber allows the volume to patina and age in place, fitting tonally with the surrounding dunes. MRTN Architects brings a contemporary crispness to the rural and removed home, ensuring the elevated structure sits unassuming in its setting.

Instead of proposing an outdoor space that would sit exposed, the dining and kitchen space open with built-in balcony railings to replicate the idea of an open deck.

Built by Kane Worthy Constructions, Hide House is divided into two main forms. A rectilinear base acts as the foundation of the home, covered in the same fire-resistant timber as the upper level, which then curves out towards the views over Andersons Inlet to the northeast. As a second home away from Melbourne, the owners can utilise the retreat as a place to disassociate from the city, embracing nature and even working remotely. Needing to open and flexibly change during popular seasons throughout the year, the spaces are planned to allow for an expansion and contraction, as well as for zoning when family and friends visit.

Integral to the experience of the home is its views. Hide House has a front-row seat to the natural changes throughout the year. Resultingly, the structure tucks itself into the existing vegetation as much as possible, with smaller curated openings for viewing. Instead of proposing an outdoor space that would sit exposed, the dining and kitchen space open with built-in balcony railings to replicate the idea of an exposed deck. A sense of containment within the whole is then reinforced, while an open connectedness encourages natural ventilation to pass through the home. As an extension of its remoteness, the structure sits protected from bushfires with its sustainably harvested and milled silvertop ash. Rainwater is harvested on site and the home’s energy is not connected to mains but, rather, self-sustained.

The combined use of textural and natural timber allows the volume to patina and age in place, fitting tonally with the surrounding dunes.

Hide House is a unique insertion into the Venus Bay landscape and, through the careful recreation of a traditional hide on a much larger scale, MRTN Apartments has crafted an ideal place to engage with nature.