Mori House by Aires Mateus, MA+Co and Neometro

“Architecture is an incomplete art, only finished by the life that fills it,” says Portuguese architect Manuel Aires Mateus. This sentiment carries weight at Mori House – the coastal home he designed with Melbourne-based firm MA+Co for Jeff Provan, director of Neometro, and his wife Mariko Mori Provan in Mount Martha, Victoria.

Having spent time at several Aires Mateus projects over the years, the Provans were interested in engaging Aires Mateus, the firm’s founder, to design their project in collaboration with MA+Co and Neometro. “We were sold on his idea of adventure and the historical references he used, and his philosophy on design was really interesting – very well considered,” says Jeff. A month or so after contacting the firm to no avail, the couple were in Lisbon and called to follow up; it was their last night in the city and they were hoping to catch Aires Mateus. “Within 10 minutes, he’d read our brief and called me back to discuss it. We were very close to his office, so we went to meet him and ended up spending an hour or so together,” recalls Jeff. “He loved the brief and that was the start of the relationship with him.”

The thoughtful brief described fundamentals, like site conditions and context, alongside a spatial concept for a place to sleep, wash, eat and swim.

The thoughtful brief described fundamentals, like site conditions and context, alongside a spatial concept for a place to sleep, wash, eat and swim. One line reads: “We want to challenge traditional ideas of domesticity and for you to design with us spaces that allow for different modes of occupation.” It also revealed the couple’s shared affinities for the sea, off-form concrete, bicycles, books, Yayoi Kusama’s sculptures and the work of Carlo Scarpa, Tadao Ando and Luis Barragán. “They weren’t asking for a house, they were asking for a place to live,” says Aires Mateus. “That was interesting for me, as I do some exercises with students where I specify ideas for spaces and they have to apply that, and that was exactly the way Mariko and Jeff approached it.”

There was a sense of kismet about their coming together and the serendipity doesn’t end there; following their initial meeting in Lisbon, the pair continued their travels, checking into a small hotel in Porto only to bump into Aires Mateus and his wife over Portuguese tarts and coffee the next morning. Before they broke ground on their new home, the architect stayed with the Provans at their old beach house, also in Mount Martha, visiting the site each morning “to sketch, watch the sun, take in the views and get the lay of the land,” says Jeff. This feeling of affability and ease permeated the design and construction process. “Jeff really knows what he’s doing,” says Aires Mateus. “Not only technically but also from an emotional point of view, and you really feel Mariko’s presence in the project, so it was a very relaxing way of working.”

The resulting dwelling takes the shape of an in-situ poured-concrete form defined by a series of protective pavilions around courtyards, which vary in nature from a pool and a garden to an olive grove and a chicken run.

The resulting dwelling takes the shape of an in-situ poured-concrete form defined by a series of protective pavilions around courtyards, which vary in nature from a pool and a garden to an olive grove and a chicken run. Deep eaves provide shelter, and a concrete staircase leads to a rooftop belvedere with views to the ocean. Rationalised and anchored in place, the concrete volume draws on a variety of influences, including Portuguese and Japanese design sensibilities alongside references to Ancient Rome, notably the cruciform framework delineating the heart of the home.

Aires Mateus says his initial idea expressed a “stronger physicality than what is usually attempted in Australia,” complemented by “Jeff’s efficiency and pragmatism and Mariko’s delicate nature”. This conceptual framework was realised on site with the help of Karen Alcock and Rachael McNally of MA+Co – long-term collaborators and friends of Neometro. “We loved the idea of Manuel sending us these sketches that we developed – it was more about the universal language of architecture,” reflects Alcock.

Aires Mateus says his initial idea expressed a “stronger physicality than what is usually attempted in Australia,” complemented by “Jeff’s efficiency and pragmatism and Mariko’s delicate nature”.

Internally, the spaces vary in scale and specificity. Mori House includes a tatami room, communal areas and bedrooms, as well as two self-contained guest suites that sit away from the primary form but mirror its geometry. There is a distinct sense of intimacy and protection within these zones – an outcome derived from Manuel’s initial concept. “In many ways, it’s a large building, but it’s not over-scaled,” notes Alcock. “Manuel brought these strong ideas about proportion and scale and was very determined about how he did things.” One of these ideas dictated that no room be wider than 4.2 metres. “We struggled with this magic figure to begin with because we had plenty of site to work with, so to move a wall by one metre wasn’t a huge cost, but he was adamant we stick with this grid and that brought an intimacy to the project,” says Jeff.

Importantly, for the couple, Mori House can be cosy for two or expand to host friends and family for gatherings and holidays. Also imperative was creating a home that expressed the same sense of informality and ease redolent of their previous shack down the road, and though this concrete form is decidedly bold – brutalist by way of its extensive use of concrete and monolithic in expression – it is, in fact, a casual and welcoming dwelling. Without a doubt, this can be traced to the Provans’ laid-back approach to life by the beach and their infectious, hospitable personalities: two integral elements that animate this piece of architecture, rendering it complete.

Architecture by Aires Mateus, MA+Co and Neometro. Interior design by Aires Mateus and Neometro. Build by Neometro Projects and Robert Brotto. Landscape design by Myles Baldwin Design. Structural engineering by R. Bliem & Associates.