Bligh Graham Architects

Beyond the context of Camelot or maybe Ming-Dynasty China, it’s not often that a client requests that their home be built as a ‘fragment in the city wall’, much less ‘an occupied ruin’. But that’s exactly what the clients for this suburban Queensland project envisaged, and it’s exactly what the architects created in the Samford House. Let it be said, however, that this is no tumbledown shack. Nor is it even shabby chic. Indeed nothing could be further from the truth.

With budget no obstacle to design freedom or material selection, funds for this project were generously allocated to high-quality craftsmanship, durable construction, and a timeless palette of finishes, rather than overwhelming size or ‘wilful structural gymnastics’. The design is a beautiful display of architectural finesse and fine detailing. External timber batten screens and a wraparound pebbled courtyard give the Samford House the zen-like qualities of a Japanese ryokan (guest house), while inside, timber panelling harkens back to the glamour days of 1950s modernism. The ‘occupied ruin’ theme comes out in the hanging-gardens-of-Babylon balcony, where box plantings sprawl along the top of white-rendered masonry walls. This mid-level overlay of living ficus, and the panels of recycled ironbark cladding rising to the roofline only add to the sense of an overgrown oriental palace.

The ‘city wall’ theme emerges not from the impressive stature of the home, but rather from its geographical location, on the outer boundary of the consolidated built fabric that is Samford Village. Here, the house represents the very edge of civilisation – the point of no return – beyond which there are only rural properties and bushland and national park.

The clients are a semi-retired couple, empty nesters determined to make this the last home they live in, the home they grow old in together, and the home that they could stay in until their dying days. Not that this is in any way morbid. Rather, it reflects the pragmatic mindset that comes with life experience and the slowing pace of retirement, as well as a desire for well-earned selfindulgence. High on the list of considerations was that the home be easily accessible, so that the couple never have to leave, hence the automated passenger lift. On the other hand, the design reflects the clients’ young-atheart interests, from the ample space reserved for an extensive artwork collection, large toyroom-meetsworkshop and equally large craft room; to the small pool, large caravan/boat store, outdoor kitchen with teppanyaki bar, and three bedrooms for when the family fly home to roost (just for the holidays of course).

Built on a flat but small (600sqm) block, building to the topography wasn’t an issue, but building to the confined space was. The ultimate solution was a three-tiered approach, getting the most out of the limited site by incorporating a below-ground basement ventilated and lit by high level windows. Above this, the ground level serves as a threshold between the bush and the inner courtyard, while the upper storey is an intimate ‘treehouse’.

In the true spirit of environmentally sustainable development and intergenerational equity, the clients insisted that their home have an extremely passive, indeed negative, impact on the environment. The result is impressive to say the least, due in part to the triple-decker format, with motorised clerestory louvres on the topmost level to draw refreshing air from the coolth store of the basement through the house, before expelling warm air that has gathered in the living areas.

Structurally, the selection of construction materials has given the home impressive thermal mass properties: the main level is made of reverse veneer masonry walls with external insulation, fixed to the core-filled blockwork, which has an internal hardset plaster finish. Add to this extensive low-power lighting (LED and fluorescent), a 45-kilolitre rainwater tank, recycled ironbark cladding, a sophisticated mechanical plant that harvests heat for the pool, and a 10kW solar power station, and the eco-impact of the Samford House is better than passive, it is negative. This is more than a retirement villa or an occupied ruin, it is a high-performing ‘green’ home that generates more power than it uses, and puts the excess in storage batteries and feeds it back into the grid. +

1 Exterior timber battens and pebbled courtyards lend the home an oriental tea-house appeal. 2 Timber panelling gives the home a sense of 1950s modern glamour – on trend with the present minimalist style, but with a real kick of richness and personality. 3 The ground level living spaces are designed to encourage a continuum between the indoors and out, enhanced by the garden outside and the timber panelling within. 4 The ‘occupied ruin’: sprawling greenery at balcony level gives the home a sense of overgrown grandeur, confirming its borderline suburban-meets-bushland location. 5 With its artful structural and material textures, the Samford House is far removed from the current trend towards fierce architectural minimalism, but still at the top of the game when it comes to architectural beauty and fashion. 6 High ceilings and feature lighting add delicate accents to the timber floors and white-rendered walls.

PHOTOGRAPHY by Jon Linkins