Boneo Country House

An existing house has been completely re-imagined as part of a larger schema for the site. Most of the existing house has been retained and the finishes updated to provide a consistent approach between the existing spaces and a new pavilion. The decision to retain most of the existing house being informed by both economic and environmental sustainability factors. The existing house includes bedrooms and living spaces for the younger generation. The new addition branches from the old across the slope, unfolding to engage with expansive views stretching over Bass Strait and Port Phillip Bay. This wing contains new living spaces, a main bedroom suite and car parking. The splitting of the house allows for multi-generational use, providing spaces for retreat and for communal family living. The new living wing’s form is fluid and organic. It’s form perhaps reminiscent of a water divining stick, albeit for finding views to water rather than water itself. The ground slopes down naturally and the floor level hovers over as cantilevered living spaces. The kitchen and main bedroom reconnect with the ground, and open onto a sheltered north-facing terrace. They have a more intimate relationship with the landscape. A skin of copper on the sides of the house is taut and crisply defining. It is sliced open to frame the views that have been divined from the site. Over time the copper will develop a green patina, settling the building into its context. The arrival sequence has been carefully considered. After a long, meandering driveway via rolling hills and native trees, the house is revealed. An existing courtyard has been strengthened through the introduction of a new timber screen. This screen acts like a hedge to define a protected courtyard space - a cultivated garden within the broader rolling hills of the Mornington Peninsula landscape. It directs visitors to the entry. Entry is through a glass link between old and new where a glimpse of the view is afforded before venturing inside. It performs as a transitional space, enabling flexibility of use and better zoning for thermal and acoustic comfort. Within the new wing curved walls set a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Timber of local species is used to line the interior, with varying textures across floor, walls and joinery. The interior is like a cabinet itself, a place to wander through, a place for refuge. The sectional character of the interior varies along its length. The space transforms from vertically oriented to a lower horizontal space, amplifying the panoramic views through large window portals. A number of architectural devices stitch the existing house into a new contemporary proposition. In addition to the entry hedge two timber canopy structures provide a sense of shelter and dappled light. The most significant of these defines the character of a new west-facing terrace which connects the old house with the new. Both living spaces open onto this outdoor space, creating opportunities to socially connect.