Toolern Vale by Paul Couch

Cocooned by gum trees, Toolern Vale sits within the Macedon Ranges locale as if it were always there, untouched and grounded in permanence. Architect Paul Couch designed the home for himself and his family more than five decades ago, creating something so pure in its form and materiality that it feels like a burrow of sorts, inherently linked to the landscape.

The brief called for a three-bedroom house that was compatible with the bush context – robust, fire resistant and low maintenance. While this sounds simple in theory, Toolern Vale took nearly 20 years to build. The project was Couch’s first as a sole practitioner – he even crafted many of the elements himself– heralding the beginning of a prolific career as an architect and serving as a cornerstone for the style and ambition of his later works. And yet, while Toolern Vale was built a lifetime ago, Couch still speaks of the home with resounding clarity and recalls every detail with palpable fondness.

Dominated by dark greens, muted browns and shaded alcoves, the landscape becomes part of the building – the dappled light playing across the concrete facade and subtly edging its way inside through large glass screens.

Leaving Melbourne and heading north-west, one will find Toolern Vale nestled on a narrow horizontal ridge in the foothills of the Macedon Ranges. “The site itself is fully covered in a dry eucalyptus long-leafed box forest,” says Couch. “It is covered in moss and lichen with leaf mulch, but it is bare of any actual grass.” Dominated by dark greens, muted browns and shaded alcoves, the landscape becomes part of the building – the dappled light playing across the concrete facade and subtly edging its way inside through large glass screens.

The house itself sits on a hill but maintains a low profile. “I made sure the building was long and narrow and not too tall so that it sits well below the tree line, therefore having a very minimal impact on the outline of the ridge,” says Couch. This gives the sense that the home can’t be seen, also giving inhabitants the sense that they are hidden away, unnoticed. However, from inside the building, one can see everything. The house looks out to the north and south, with views towards Port Phillip Bay, Geelong and the granite ridges of the You Yangs.

“There are no conventional windows. The glazing and doors are bedded into the concrete structure, and this gives a kind of transparent junction between the building and the landscape,” says Couch.

Toolern Vale’s layout is simple and modern. The entry courtyard is where gravel, timber and concrete sets the scene for something primitive – everything about the home is stripped back to bare necessities. “The power supply is even underground,” notes Couch. Rooms open up and time slows down – the narrow  spine of the house containing the bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen is separated into three parts with screened courtyards. Continuing straight, a large timber sliding door reveals an expansive glass pavilion that invites you to connect with the sprawling bushland once again.

Glass screens are carefully placed to frame views of the swaying trees beyond and welcome light into the home. These vignettes resemble landscape paintings, inspiring contemplation from the comfort of shelter. “There are no conventional windows. The glazing and doors are bedded into the concrete structure, and this gives a kind of transparent junction between the building and the landscape,” says Couch.

“To me, the mood is one of stillness, calm, solidity and silence,” says Couch.

The architect prefers the handmade and the natural, which shows in his hands-on approach to materiality and construction. “The ceilings are hand-sawn Oregon planks, and the external barn-type doors are framed in Western red cedar with Oregon planked infill,” he says. Couch has a love of concrete – “I love its permanency and adaptability” – and its limitless quality, so it’s no surprise Toolern Vale is predominantly made from onsite precast concrete. Concrete is also used in the kitchen benches and storage components as well as in the bathroom where a concrete bath is complemented by concrete walls and stone flooring, offering a space that feels more akin to a temple. The way the concrete works inharmony with the bushscape evokes a disposition unlike many other homes with similar materiality. “To me, the mood is one of stillness, calm, solidity and silence,” says Couch.

Naturally, furnishings also have a crafted, pared-back sensibility. Terracotta pots are scattered across the courtyards, evoking a kind of nostalgia for the simple and elementary before you even enter the home. Once inside, furnishings offer simple moments for reflection – a single couch in front of the fire, a piano nestled in a sun-lit corner, a modest chair placed in position to admire the sun disappearing behind the trees, with binoculars at the ready to admire through the trees.

The permanence of the home speaks to its sustainability in many ways, as does its minimal maintenance, ability to withstand bushfires and timelessness.

“The building has withstood some 50 years of weathering without any deterioration and the concrete structure has remained,” reflects Couch. The permanence of the home speaks to its sustainability in many ways, as does its minimal maintenance, ability to withstand bushfires and timelessness.

Characterised by earthy materiality, a simple form and a backdrop of gum trees, Toolern Vale has an elemental quality that is quintessentially Australian – raw and unpretentious. Couch reflects on his favourite experience of his home, “to be able to stand inside the glazed wall and observe the rain revitalising the moss and lichen green on the outside”. In this sense, Toolern Vale feels like it arrived well before its existence, offering one a tangible sense of what really matters beyond the nuances of architecture: landscape, shelter and connection.

Architecture and build by Paul Couch.