Exploring Beyond the Expected – Main Ridge by Chamberlain Architects

Initially destined to be demolished and replaced, Main Ridge House was instead resolved to retain the original building after Chamberlain Architects’ analysis of the site divulged its generous potential. The resulting renovation and extension is a more sustainable outcome that enhances the strength of the original building while embracing the ideals of rural living.

In its idyllic and removed Main Ridge setting on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, the owners were drawn to the expansive site, coastal location, and the enviable surrounding views. In discussing the opportunity, Chamberlain Architects’ Director Glen Chamberlain says, “the land was beautiful with rolling hills and views out to Port Phillip Bay, which the clients were quite captivated by, but the house did have a few strange details.” After the clients engaged Chamberlain Architects to accompany them on the demolition and rebuild journey, the process took a less-than-expected turn early on, one that perhaps paved the path for a more permanent move to the location upon completion. Although, Glen recalls, “the existing home was large, which fitted their brief, we could see there were some redeeming features, and instead of demolishing, we thought it was worth salvaging.” From an analysis of the existing plan and conditions, it was then decided, Glen says, “to work with the existing bones and that the project be a considered and integrated renovation.” This agreed direction then saw the beginning of a period of exploration and experimentation of numerous concepts to best engage the site.

The architects played with levels and immersed seating so that views are unencumbered, and sheltered spaces become extensions of the landscape, allowing the site to be enjoyed throughout the year.

Originally built in the 1990s, the large family home had become known in the area as the ‘roly poly’ house due to its undulating roofline and obscurity amongst its setting. The focus, Glen says, “was on retaining quite a lot of the existing, and by avoiding demolition it became more about surgical additions.” The existing home was void of a consistent narrative, and the new elements offer a simplified sense of clarity. The interesting details became a main pull and a strength to the home that the team intended to retain and celebrate. While the decision to demolish and rebuild would have been a more linear and expected process, the reusing of materials and reducing reliance on new energy was established as a core principle of the new project. As Glen remarks, “from a sustainability perspective, the concrete alone had an immense amount of embodied energy, which we wanted to retain.”

While the original house was anchored to its site through a low-lying relationship to its terrain, its relationship did not extend outward toward the landscape in any way. In addressing this, Glen references the importance of integration. “What we wanted to create were peninsulas that speared out into the landscape – the pool, decks, terraces allowed this. The insertion of the ‘whisky hut’ also becomes its own feature, as its own tiny satellite, connecting the lake and echoing the shape of the main structure.” The architects played with levels and immersed seating so that views are unencumbered, and sheltered spaces become extensions of the landscape, allowing the site to be enjoyed throughout the year. In order to ensure the existing structure could connect to its site, an opening-up of the existing planning allowed the home to have its own dialogue with the outward views, while also reinforcing an already linear plan that was in need of clarity. Describing Chamberlain Architects’ approach, Glen says, “we needed to ensure the circulation was working and embed logic to the plan, and through addressing the existing proportions, this allowed for a change in heights to feel intentional.”

Through a play on compression and release, primary and secondary spaces were able to sit comfortably next to one another, with the transition between feeling like part of an intentional journey.

A stripping back of what lay before saw elemental and strong forms uncovered, revealing high, vaulted ceilings that became a significant driver for the resulting approach. Through a play on compression and release, primary and secondary spaces were able to sit comfortably next to one another, with the transition between feeling like part of an intentional journey. While the lowered and dark living area sees a timber-lined ceiling emphasised further through a darkened tonality, the vast open and light-filled main living area offers a change in how the home feels. As part of a greater philosophy, Glen says, “on such a large property, we felt it was important to create different experiences across the site and within the house.”

While the original intent was for the project to remain as an occasional home, the process of uncovering potential on site and the incidental timing of altered working relationships saw a different set of priorities emerge. The brief, Glen says, “morphed significantly as the clients decided to sell their inner-city home and move into an apartment as their urban base.” With Main Ridge intended to become the owner’s primary residence, the approach also evolved. Detailing and the subsequent materiality then needed to be elevated to match an expected robustness required for everyday inhabitation.

Glen describes the remaining elements on site as “retaining the memory of the old home,” even while Main Ridge has evolved to become a contemporary and curated revision of its previous self. Through a considered approach, Chamberlain Architects has implemented measured interventions to repurpose an existing home as a connected and collaborative participant in the landscape, binding its past and its present.