Sawmill House

by Archier

The perfect demonstration on how Australia’s growing hoard of latent building materials can be used in new and innovative ways.

Located on the site of an old sawmill, which fell into remission in the late 90s, Sawmill House is result of a close connection between client and architect; two brothers with a shared vision. Founder of Archier Chris, worked closely with his brother Ben during the design and construction of Sawmill House.

Ben; who is a builder and sculptural artist, worked closely on the design and construction with Archier, to create a stunning new space made a wide variety of recycled materials.

270 recycled blocks were used to form the perimeter walls of the property, with each block weighing around one tonne. The blocks were locally sourced from the by-product of concrete slabs poured in the region. This approach encouraging investment and investigation into the largely untapped resource of latent assets from the surrounding area.

The design of Sawmill includes large sections of the roof and façade being mechanised, to allow for extra natural light to enter the space, or close off when required. There is also an external decking area, which offers views of an old dam through double glazed stacking doors, which spans the entire space of the open kitchen, dining and living areas.

Brass sheeting has been used throughout the kitchen cabinetry for a rustic natural look, which compliments the hardwood floors throughout, which are made from recycled locally felled trees. This same wood was also used to create high line pendants, which have been positioned throughout all the open living spaces.

The focal design point of Sawmill was to move the attention away from conventional building solutions, and investigate a more bespoke and cost-effective way to produce a modern and natural space. Which has certainly been accomplished.

Photographed by Ben Hosking.

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