Sheep House

Located in the rolling green landscape of Victoria’s ‘Spa Country’, an hour’s drive north of Melbourne, the Sheep House adopts an alternative reading of the Australian landscape – embedding itself firmly in the rich red earth, becoming part of the land rather than hovering above it. The 100-acre property adjoins Wombat State Forest and remains a working sheep farm. The paddocks have been reconfigured from rectangles into flattened, conjoined ovals. The curves scribed by fence posts act as horizontal counterpoint to the natural rise and fall of the land. Appearing first as a line then a wall across the landscape, the dwelling emerges perpendicular to the access road, passing between house and service module into a contained exterior space. The house is essentially a long thin volume, locked down by two stone fireplaces, that kinks at the Eastern end toward the sunset. This deflection creates enclosure to the South, defining an exterior ‘room’ captured from the paddock containing two formal circles – one lawn, one gravel. The South wall is constructed from thick, insulated precast concrete panels grounding the form. Inside, spaces are logically assembled along a gallery addressing north light to each room. The north wall is predominantly glass with deep red Jarrah timber cladding wrapping down to form a deck.
Entirely off-grid, the dwelling pursues a committed environmental agenda whilst remaining robust enough to accommodate total indulgence.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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