Reassembling the Traditional Family Home – Wickham House by MODO Architecture
Dismantling and reassembling the traditional components of the family home, Wickham House sees MODO Architecture reinterpret internal zoning through a play on volume, level changes and spatial separators.
Located in Strathmore, in Melbourne, Wickham House is a reassessment of the expectations of residential architecture through both rigorous study and dissection of its comprising parts. By responding to the client’s brief with creativity, the expected is challenged and the resulting spaces have an added complexity to the four-walled envelopes housing furniture, objects and artwork. Instead, through a countenance of texture, geometries and materiality, there is a connection between the comprising parts and raw architectural elements of the home.
Built by Justin Gee Builder, Wickham House emphasises the vertical connection of the spaces. Punctuating the centre of the connected spaces is a steel stair that separates both the living and the kitchen, acting as both protective barrier and visual screening device. The insertion of carefully considered skylights then add to the emphasis of the mass and the resulting texture. Through subtle changes internally, a less formal arrangement of space unfolds, each nuance hinting at an anticipated boundary and the functionality of its space. The generous raked timber ceiling also adds a geometrically interesting element, leading the eye upward and highlighting the volume at the same time.
Integral to the design is a feeling of continuity for all the spaces, where each room feels connected. Blockwork and timber form the core building materiality. Not only does the concrete block wall add to the thermal mass of the structure and allow for passive warming and cooling of the house, but it also adds textural diversity against the timber, which is softer. The warm and coolness of these core materials help highlight and emphasise the other. The further positioning of the pool in the centre creates a focal point upon entry that encourages engagement. This deliberate positioning avoids the pool being left dormant during the winter months, creating a truly living and breathing element of the home that functions year-round.
MODO Architecture has carefully examined the traditional family home and reconstructed it as a series of texture-rich volumes that speak directly to the client and how they live. The engagement with the home’s landscape adds depth and breaks up the bold use of materiality, offering glimpses of the natural through the built world. Wickham House offers a sculptural gesture to the street, articulated with refined metal details and contrasting materiality and texture.
