Natural Restraint – Lemon Tree Lane by ME Architect

Sitting in contrast to its surrounding setting, Lemon Tree Lane’s crisp form offers an expressed balance to its natural context. ME Architect deliberately aims to interact lightly with the site, carving into the overall form to curate views out, emphasising the interior experience as it moulds the exterior articulation.

Imagined as a restrained series of gestures, Lemon Tree Lane is located in Currumbin and forms an ideal and removed retreat for its young family. The surrounding views form the focus for the resulting home, with the overall mass carved into to shape the experience from the inside out. As a place of shelter and immersed within its context, the home sits lightly in position, looking out over the undulating terrain and lush landscape. Anchored at one end, the majority of the form sits cantilevered out over the sloping site and projects out towards the surrounding views. ME Architect utilises a combination of robust and weather resilient materials to sheathe the home and connect it to its place.

A modest yet familiar palette of finishes fills the interiors, with custom-designed and integrated timber elements and storage throughout.

Lemon Tree Lane feels protective and shielding; the stepped landscape softens the transition between inside and out. Framed views animate the interior while providing a sense of connection outward, feathering the building edge. The palette draws from its context; select muted tones link to the natural elements and further emphasise a removal from the urban context. The close collaboration between engineer, builder and architect worked to achieve an efficient and effective use of materials, further reducing the consequential footprint.

Entered from a dark and cave-like stairwell, the light-filled upper spaces are revealed by moving through and into various internally coupled zones. A modest yet familiar palette of finishes fills the interiors, with custom-designed and integrated timber elements and storage throughout. Disconnected from the grid, sustainable systems have been integrated into the working mechanisms on site, ensuring no town water or sewer is relied upon; coupled with rainwater collection and re-use, the home’s footprint is significantly reduced. Optimised orientation allows for solar gain during winter and as a deterrent during summer, with open living areas to the north and the bedroom and more retreat spaces to the south.

As a place of shelter and immersed within its context, the home sits lightly in position, looking out over the undulating terrain and lush landscape.

As a modestly clad insertion, ME Architect’s Lemon Tree Lane peaks out into the valley to create a sense of disconnect and a restful place of calm