Architecture News Plus (ANP) – Architecture and Design Magazine

Kangaroo Valley House

This is a project by Turner + Associates Architects and it is located at New South Wales, Australia. Project's program: Single family house. There are ten images for Kangaroo Valley House.

: © Brett Boardman

Project details

Project name: Kangaroo Valley House
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Program: Single family house
Area: Site Area: 40 hectares • Built-up Area: 325 m2
Year: Completion: 2006
Project by: Turner + Associates Architects
Team: Design Team: Nicholas Turner, Dan Szwaj, Andrew Buchanan, Grant Cole, Rob Page

Project images

Designer's statement

The client required a retreat away from the city for entertaining and relaxation.

The geometry of the house is simply orthogonal, forming quietly arranged spaces within a dramatic natural landscape. The house is made up of a family of containers, roofed and open to the sky.

Concrete, copper and timber have been assigned to the key three elements of the house. Concrete is used as a robust material where connections to the ground are made and compatible with the massive organic rock shelf formations adjacent. Copper is used as a crafted, soft and patinaed surface hovering above the ground, the colour of which makes a connection with the eucalyptus leaves on the ground and the hues of the tall Bloodwood’s that dominate the site. Timber is used on the external living surfaces as a rich but domestic contrast to the cladding and structural materials.

The simplicity of the spatial configurations and overall form belie the ability of the building to offer different living patterns that respond to seasonal and diurnal changes. Outside the winter months, the terrace, living volume and southern external courtyard represent an extended flexible living space.