Hidden House / Archterra Architects

Architects:Archterra Architects

Area:110m²

Year:2018

Photographs:Douglas Mark Black

Manufacturers:AWS,Bluescope,Carter Holt Harvey,Openspace

Lead Architect:Paul OReilly

Engineering:Margaret River Structural Engineering

Builder:Hanrahan Construction

Collaborators:OOpenspace furniture Perth WA

City:Margaret River

Country:Australia

Text description provided by the architects. This additions project is located amongst jarrah and peppermint forests and grafts a contemporary pavilion onto an existing timber-framed and clad house built in the early ’90s.

The new work consists of a reading/living room and master bedroom with a bathroom and is linked to the existing house by a transparent gallery that also acts as a secondary entrance to the new wing.

Large sliding panel doors that disappear into the wall cavity allow a flow of space and views between the existing house and the new reading room and then through the bedroom. A frameless corner window in the bedroom enables panoramic views into the bushland surrounding the house and invites the bush into the room.

3m high sliding doors in the reading room link the indoors to the full height of the trees to the east and an amazing early morning light show through the tree trunks.

A window seat in the main living area surrounded by bookshelves frames a view of the bush and provides an intimate spot to read and contemplate nature. Externally the window seat is articulated as a compressed cement sheet hood within the dark fluted metal cladding.

Prefinished vertical Colorbond cladding in dark grey tones mimic the verticality of the trees and settles the new work into the bushland setting and contrasts with the white walls and light plywood ceilings of the interior.

Project gallery