Highlands House by Other Architects
Once a cramped former cottage, Highlands House by Other Architects has been reimagined into an unsuspecting multi-use home celebrating flexibility and openness.
Words: Holly Terry I Photography: Clinton Weaver
The site for this project is located on Gundungurra and Tharawal land, overlooking the Illawarra Escarpment and distant ocean. Photo: Clinton Weaver
If I told you Highland’s house was a former cottage – cramped, tightly planned and dark, you probably wouldn’t believe me. Truth be told, the former cottage was tightly held by an overgrown garden which criminally blocked the glistening sea view of the southern NSW coastline.
‘Garden first, house second,’ is the general sentiment of the breathtaking yet subtle Highlands House which lays low in its grandeur, reconstructing the idea of the functionally modern Australian House. Spectacularly un-obvious, the residence is set with a flat roof to avoid obstructing its sprawling garden setting and ensuring the character and cohesion of the block are kept intact.
Inspired by travel, Other Architects directors Grace Mortlock and David Neustein confidently challenge the status quo of recreating grand buildings from faraway lands. ‘We’ve been fortunate to be able to travel very widely. But we’ve found when we do so, the places we seek out, and the ones we enjoy the most, tend to feel barely designed, generic and unobtrusive, rather than spectacular and imposing,’ they share.
It’s the ordinary buildings they’ve learned more from, designing for use rather than spectacle, ‘We’ve tried to gently integrate the house into its setting, using a small footprint, quiet building form and recessive colour to settle the new dwelling into its established setting and let the vibrant, ever-changing garden take centre stage.’
Taking further inspiration from the spaces designed in Marfa, Texas by artist Donald Judd, Other Architects intentionally left space within the residence that celebrates ambiguity and openness, a contradiction to modern-day Australian architecture which relies heavily on compact functionality.
This brief allowed Other Architects to explore the idea of living in a single, capacious room; its spatial qualities defined not by corridors and walls but by daylight and openings, views and artworks, objects and furnishings. Photo: Clinton Weaver
An adjacent artist’s studio was retained, now used by our clients as a library and workspace. It has been repainted but is otherwise unaltered. Photo: Clinton Weaver
“We’re not attracted to architecture that is dramatic, elaborate and noticeable. Our ultimate ambition is to be so good at making wonderful, calm, practical spaces that we become invisible.”
The bedroom opens directly to open space. Photo: Clinton Weaver
Colour has been applied in bursts: a bright yellow door; earthy red in the boot room; a vertical slot of green glass in the ensuite; a canopy of golden light over the bed. Photo: Clinton Weaver
The home’s pale green facade and predominant flat roof recedes into its surroundings. Photo: Clinton Weaver
‘Our clients are voracious readers and keen art collectors, and we knew that they would bring their own selection of books, paintings, objects, and other decorative touches to the interior. So, we wanted to provide a calm, warm interior that anticipated bursts of colour and intensity.’ Photo: Clinton Weaver
‘Architects are needed to make practical and humane places, to be sure, but if the architecture itself is too visible and obvious, it completely overwhelms the setting. Conversely, we observed how everyday life thrives when buildings sit back and let people, activity, pets and plants take over,’ says Other Architects. Photo: Clinton Weaver
“You move through the spaces and not around them, which makes the rooms feel open and generous and allows the house to be more compact and efficient.”
A series of sculptural light scoops crown the otherwise flat roof and bring controlled daylight deep into the interior. Photo: Clinton Weaver
With clients who were resolute on only a single bedroom within the home, Other Architects managed to flesh out the minimal spatial footprint to create multi-use spaces teeming with Vic-ash joinery, natural linens and creamy whites that would actually be lived in, rather than seldomly used guest rooms. ‘Too often houses are designed around hypothetical guests and visitors, leading to rabbit-warrens of single-use bedrooms and bathrooms rather than comfortable multipurpose spaces.’
By employing the use of light scoops, the team channelled light into the heart of the space and created warmth with a burst of yellow in the curved vault over the bedroom to compliment the low gaze of the morning sun.
Intentionally making use of fixed divisions as furniture, Other Architects integrated internal walls and storage elements, which delicately compliment the open expanse of the floor plan. By sliding back concealed panels, the study, bed, bath, kitchen and entertaining area all become one, making the footprint of the house feel much larger than its humble reality.
There are big things on the horizon for Other Architects, who are currently in the process of piecing together a Planetary Action Plan, which will see the prioritisation of questions of waste, extraction, duration, energy use and resources in all of their projects. They’re also working on a duo of carbon-positive dwellings on existing clearings in an ecologically sensitive rainforest on the south coast of NSW.