6
Vision Magazine
LARGE HOUSES TEND
TO BE POLITICALLY
INCORRECT BUT
EVERY SO OFTEN THE
LARGE HOUSE, THE
MANSION, RESTORES
BELIEF THAT QUALITY
AND QUANTITY CAN
CO-EXIST UNDER
THE ONE ROOF.
Michael O’Sullivan
Vibe Design Group
Right
Classical elements contrast
a sharp modernity.
Bottom
The house prior to its
renovation rescue.
A
n abandoned, stage-set house of no fixed era
is hardly fertile ground for a grand new vision.
The Eaglemont House would have remained
a grandiose basket-case but for a young family with
a plan to build its dream home and convert the uglyduckling into a swan.
Large houses tend to be politically incorrect but
every so often the large house, the mansion, restores
belief that quality and quantity can co-exist under the
one roof. A good measure of architecture is its ability to
overcome adversity. Every building designer loves the
idea of the grassy knoll. This project had no such luck.
Vibe Design Group faced the altogether harsh
reality of dealing with a latter day Gone With The
Wind knock-off. Confronting, let alone digesting,
such mistakes were daunting. Vibe decided to run
with a more sustainable approach that retained just
enough of the errant original. Hardly decent design
DNA you might think, but the firm persevered where
many others would have surrendered.
The abandoned residence presented 70 sq. of nonfunctional spaces that included indoor pool and spa.
Lacking proportion and elegance and without regard
for energy efficiency, the house, quite deservedly,
had no shortage of detractors.
Loving the site but not the house, the new owners
– both avid collectors of Aboriginal art – wanted
exhibition space and a house of classical scale and
proportions. Improvisations included a vigorous and
appropriate use of glass to amplify and modulate
the opportunity.