Casa Acton by Archier
Poised in the Tasmanian bush, Casa Acton takes shape as a simple structure hiding a private retreat within.
Words:Emma-Kate Wilson | Photography: Adam Gibson
The design of Casa Acton needed to be simple- but simple didn’t need to mean limited. Photo - Adam Gibson.
Photo - Adam Gibson.
To enter, the visitor is invited to jump between rocks to find the hidden door, nestled in the timber façade and surrounding lush front courtyard. As the timber ages and the garden develops, Casa Acton blends further and further into the landscape, continuing the Archier philosophy of minimal intervention.
Archier shares that the project grew out of ongoing conversations within their studio. “The balance between architecture as a technical practice and the creation of meaningful spaces; the issues of building on remote sites; the affordability of housing; the importance of sustainability; and the relationship between aesthetics and utility.”
All these conversations came together when the firm’s technical director, Josh FitzGerald and his partner Millie wanted to build their first home. Offered a temporary spot on Millie’s father’s land, the firm were tasked with designing a simple, modular, and most importantly, moveable structure that could follow the couple to their next home.
“We’d been exploring different projects and a suggestion from Millie’s dad gave us the confidence to embark on building something ourselves in stages, without having to already own the land.” says Josh FitzGerald from Archier. Photo - Adam Gibson.
Another driving factor in the design had to ensure that Josh was able to build the house himself. As such, they employed the use of SIPS (structural insulated panel systems), which are both thermally efficient and environmentally sustainable, but also add to the raw materiality that blends with the landscape.
“The exterior of the house further connects with the setting through locally and sustainably sourced raw timber board-and-batten cladding, which references the old apple sheds that exist throughout the area,” the firm shares.
“We’d been previously renting a 40-square-metre cottage, so we knew we could live somewhere small.”
The locally and sustainably sourced raw timber board-and-batten cladding on the exterior of Casa Acton. Photo - Adam Gibson.
Full height windows wrap around the studio to give the interior a greater sense of space. Photo - Adam Gibson.
Casa Acton is full of intimate moments and a creative use of space. A simple floor plan sees the visitor enter directly into the island kitchen constructed from a matt black metal and spotted gum timber surface by Tasmanian Custom Joinery. Clever storage is hidden at the end of the walkway and the island bench doubles as a breakfast bar.
The flip side of the kitchen fits a neat living zone with 7.5m floor to ceiling sliding glass doors that connect the interior to native landscaping by ‘Wildseed Tasmania’ beyond. A mosaic of Tasmanian sandstone flooring grounds the home and counteracts the temporal nature of the structure while increasing sustainability, adding thermal mass.
As seen with most Archier projects, the studio dwelling is full to the brim with house plants cascading from corners, peering out from under the bathroom sink, and over the partition wall that divides the bedroom from the living.
Casa Acton is a house that considers its environment fully, with flexibility translating to simple living. It reveals that an architecturally designed shed is just enough for a family of two.
The studio dwelling is full to the brim with house plants cascading from each and every corner. Photo - Adam Gibson.
“The design needed to be simple. But simple didn’t need to mean limited; our studio is built on the belief that constraints inspire the strongest and most resolved design outcomes.”
The simple bedroom space in the studio. Photo - Adam Gibson.
Bathroom details from Casa Acton designed by Archier. Photo - Adam Gibson.
“The exterior of the house further connects with the setting through locally and sustainably sourced raw timber board-and-batten cladding, which references the old apple sheds that exist throughout the area,” Archier shares. Photo - Adam Gibson.