Melbourne Blue-stone
A modern blue-stone clad family home on a corner site in bay-side Melbourne suburb, Brighton, Australia. Designed by Finnis Architects the Quarry house balances strong exterior form with seamlessly integrated interiors that promote shared spaces in the heart of the home and a connection with its context. By utilizing a refined palette of blue-stone, powder coated steel and timber clad soffits, exterior is complimented the blue-stones material properties. Clad in a grid format, a focus on vertical and horizontal lines compliments the rectilinear form while concealing the exposed concrete sub structure. Being a natural and aged material immediately integrated the new build into its context, giving the feeling of a home that has been there for years and will be for many to come.
The large columns add to the solid nature of the home and balances with the high amount of glazing which aids in dissolving the barrier between interior and exterior, providing a transparent, soft touch. These columns also aid in providing an extremely free floor plan which suited the clients desire for an open plan living, dining and kitchen area.
The double height void over the dining area enables light to penetrate through the heart of the home. This void is also a central location for transition and connection to the first-floor bedrooms. With blue-stone being a dominant material, it was crucial that the interior material and colour palette would soften and complement the exterior, with lighter timber finishes seen on the stair balustrade and ceiling battens.
The backyard is where this home established itself as a prime example of modern living. The home was to have neither a front or a backyard, rather a space that would transition from the entry and be able to flow and surround the living, kitchen and dining area on the ground floor. This also visually connected the four bedrooms on the first floor while incorporating blue-stone into all the paving from the entry through to the backyard tied the different areas together. The Quarry house is a home, that in its materiality will age gracefully and grow with the family.
Tom Roe Photography