地球之船房屋丨澳大利亚丨Luigi Rosselli Architects

Architects:Luigi Rosselli Architects

Year:2022

Photographs:Prue Ruscoe

Manufacturers:Corelli Joinery,Granite & Marble Works,Luigi & Adriano Rosselli Tiles

Interior Designers:Alwill Interiors

Builder:TC Build

Design Architects:Luigi Rosselli, Nicola Ghirardi

Project Architect:Nicola Ghirardi

Interior Designer:Romaine Alwill

Landscape Architect:Will Dangar

Joiner:Corelli Joinery

City:Mosman

Country:Australia

Text description provided by the architects. Architecturally, earthships form part of the discipline of adaptive reuse.  They embrace a style of architecture developed in the late 20th century, which aims to utilize both natural and upcycled materials to create passive, sustainable, and often off-grid dwellings.  Here, with Luigi Rosselli Architects’ Earth-Ship, that concept of adaptive reuse and connection to the environment is extended with the revitalization of an existing home whose original design was akin to that of a drilling platform, hovering above, and entirely disconnected from its craggy and precipitous surroundings.

Visitors to Earth-Ship approach from above, negotiating a steep driveway to reach a level, landscaped courtyard; an intentional resting place in contrast to the steep hill the home occupies.  From there the formation of the rammed earth walls, constructed in a warm and welcoming color reminiscent of the external walls of the famous Casa Malaparte villa - a magnificent example of an earthed structure to be found nestled amidst dramatic limestone cliffs on the island of Capri – guide guests to the front entry porch of the house.

Once inside, the visitor meets with a linear stair that cascades down to the different levels of the house.  Above the stair is a deep void capped with a large skylight that allows natural light to flow down through each storey.  The descent is easy and comfortable and leads first to the main living-dining-kitchen area, and then on again to the lower floors which house a guest bedroom, a sunroom, and a gym.

Each floor has a generous balcony; a succession of nautical-inspired tiered terrace decks, their ship-like appearance softened by tall trees and vegetation.  This nautical appearance is not as pronounced as that of the Cottage Point house, Luigi Rosselli Architect’s first major project, designed and built towards the end of the 1980s, which was described as Noah’s Ark moored on the slopes of Mount Ararat.  As its name suggests, Earth-Ship is more earthy that its predecessor’s nautical inspiration.

In its realization, Earth-Ship successfully combines the tenacity of Project Architect, Nicola Ghirardi, the interior design flair of Romaine Alwill, and the landscaping excellence of Will Dangar to produce a home of warmth and comfort for those who inhabit it.

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