Linear Frame – Northcote House by Taouk Architects

As an interplay between form, light and nature, Northcote House emerges as a contemporary formation of linear planes to frame views outward and overlay a considered framework throughout. Taouk Architects balances the built with the natural, calmly navigating its sloping site with reassured confidence.

Set among the richly residential Melbourne inner north, Northcote House aims to sit as a considered and complementary addition to its diverse and surrounding context. Sharing a streetscape with both heritage homes and newer insertions, the resulting residence references a similar sense of scale and proportion as its neighbours. Clad in dark timber, the upper level is intentionally deeper in tone, allowing the focus to remain on the lower level of white masonry and glass. Taouk Architects focuses on connecting to the landscape with openings and gestures that direct toward a shared bond of elements across the site.

Although the home feels monolithic and bold from approach, once inside, it is clear it has been conceived from a foundation of connection to nature.

As a considered integration of disciplines, Northcote House was built by Arpaci Constructions, alongside landscape design by COS Design. The cross-pollination between the architecture and the living elements on site was an important part of the story of the home. Although the home feels monolithic and bold from approach, once inside, it is clear it has been conceived from a foundation of connection to nature. The rigidity of the form balances the more organic elements on site and allows them to complement each other.

The form of Northcote House is one of solidity. As the slope falls away to the rear, the interior of the home opens and connects to the surrounding treetops. A monochromatic approach aligns with the clean and linear lines of the home, seeing a restrained palette of contrasting tones come together in various iterations throughout the residence. A feeling of openness was key, portrayed through both the finishes and the allowance of visual access in all areas of the design. The use of timber adds an internal welcomed warmth and reinforces a connection to the surrounding landscape, whereas generous skylights above help to fill the interior with natural light, animating surfaces in the process.

A monochromatic approach aligns with the clean and linear lines of the home, seeing a restrained palette of contrasting tones come together in various iterations throughout the residence.

Northcote House balances light and dark with solid and openness, creating its own unique series of spaces. Taouk Architects has considered the surrounds, responding through scale and conscious materiality to form a contemporary home.