Eaglemont House II

The Clients, who have a building and development business, approached us for a new house on the steep slopes of Mount Eagle. Some of the opportunities were immediately evident – superb, uninterrupted views to the north and east and a context of mature tree canopies on the large adjoining sites which form a beautiful backdrop but also afford privacy to the house and garden.

The brief called for a four bedroom house with study, play room and gym as well as a large garage, consequently the design process required a very hard-working plan and section. The plan had to resolve conflicting demands of amenity, privacy and aspect and the section had to facilitate an easy ascent and descent through the house and to visually and inherently connect the seven levels – to avoid a feeling of layers and make the vertical relationships as effortless as the horizontal connections.

It is a house designed to be there for a long time, to grow into its surroundings as the tree canopy rises around it and for this reason it is built from robust materials which will improve in appearance as they show signs of age – natural cement render and pre-aged copper cladding. The interior is contrasting in its warmth, texture and emphasis on refinement. The contrast emphasises a sense of threshold, the sense of a domestic interior as a refuge that is distinct from the garden.