Location   Nannup, Australia

Surface area   5,683 square feet

Photographs   © Peter Bennetts

	Landscape integration   Native plants preserved
	Gray water recycling   Rainwater collection and use   Minimized water waste
	Photovoltaic solar energy
	Material sourced from the site   Wooden construction   Recycled and ecological materials   Prefabricated materials

This vacation home forms part of the trail that wanders through the landscape between Perth and Nannup. The path establishes an intense dialogue with the landscape of thick forest, meandering river, and nearby hills. This spatial framework acts as a wrapper in which every experience is carefully choreographed to give maximum enrichment to the space in which the house is set.

Despite being a holiday home and therefore conceived as a short-stay residence, this iredale pedersen hook project offers a wide variety of experiences and relationships with the native landscape. From the careful control of the vertical oscillation, represented by the woods, and the horizontal oscillation, represented by the horizon, the house opens up and connects with the ground but also has a floating sensation that emerges from its projection on the ground. At this point, the windows play a vital role in the relationship between inside and out: the framed openings cut the horizontal views of the surrounding trees, to the forest, while the larger panels favor a wider panorama of the landscape, of the horizon.

Between the edge of the forest and a floodplain, in an area of fragility that exists between fire and flood, this building hangs over the landscape, barely disturbing it.

Sketches

Site plan

South elevation

West elevation

 The driveway is located along the edge of the property. It must be cleared of leaves and pine needles and the like once a year in order to serve as a fire division wall, but otherwise requires little maintenance.

 The house is situated and designed to minimize the need to trim trees and bushes. The area underneath the house is planted with indigenous species, as an attempt to reintroduce plants in danger of disappearing. A gray water recycling system is used to irrigate these plants.

Ground floor

Upper floor

  1.  Entrance

  2.  Living room

  3.  Dining room

  4.  Kitchen

  5.  Laundry room

  6.  Bathrooms

  7.  Bedroom

  8.  Study / Office

  9.  Outdoor living space

10.  Drying deck

11.  Carport

12.  Cellar / Free shelter

13.  Wood storage

 The building structure is made from 90 percent treated pine, and most of the furniture is made from pine plywood. Most of the structure is prefabricated in order to minimize construction waste.