Edgar’s Creek House by Breathe Architecture.

If there’s one thing Melbourne practice Breathe Architecture is known for, it’s their unwavering commitment to sustainability, and this recently completed project in Victoria stands as a fine example of their thinking that centres around the deep respect for country.

Perched on the banks of Edgar’s Creek, overlooking sandstone cliffs and ironbark trees, Edgars Creek House is designed to connect to nature. Instead of presiding over the landscape, it offers an opportunity to live simply as part of a system.

“Rather than fitting the site to the house, we fit the house to the site”, explain Breathe Architecture.

The house is made up of a series of undulating volumes that step into the landscape, responding to the slope of the site. It is a continuum of indoor and outdoor, light and dark environments, winding and stepping through a series of spaces, clad in raw, natural materials. It is simple and honest in its approach to siting and planning, precisely framing views of surrounding trees.

“With a primary outlook of Edgar’s Creek to the west of the site, we simultaneously opened, shaded and ventilated the house through a brise soleil,” says the design team. “Producing a micro environment, while filtering light through its screen, the brise soleil fluctuates with weather and seasons, grounding the residents in their environment.”

The brise soleil forms an open-air spine, from which the home is broken down into three pavilions – one for sleeping, one for bathing, one for living – each framing a central courtyard.

The house responds to the materiality of its local bushland. A rammed earth wall shields the southern facade, reminiscent of sandstone cliffs of the creek below. Similar to its surrounding trees, each pavilion is clad with raw ironbark. There are no tiles used inside –wet areas are finished in Australian Ironbark decking, while the kitchen features Messmate benchtops with a raw brass splashback. All tapware is raw brass and custom bent copper pipe with simple brass hose cocks.

“The house is designed to recede into the landscape, prioritising shelter and sanctuary, it is not about ego or architecture,” conclude Breathe Architecture. “Edgar’s creek house is a peaceful retreat that is textural, simple and honest. Settling into its landscape, the house celebrates its surroundings rather than trying to preside over it.”

See more projects by Breathe Architecture on Yellowtrace.

[Images courtesy of Breathe Architecture. Photography by Tom Ross.]