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T
his exemplar of honed simplicity forms a
mellifluous fit with its ancient landscape. The
aptly-named property ‘Waterview’ is a working
sheep farm of 440 hectares operated by the Wardle
family for 11 years. Their rehabilitation of landscape is
impressive enough with some 150 hectares reserved
for conservation purposes and more than 7,000
indigenous trees planted. The new house Quarters is
located on the site of an old shearing shed destroyed
by bushfire in the 1980s. Of special significance is
the relationship to an 1840 cottage built for Captain
James Kelly as part of a Colonial land grant.
The design fully grasps a beguiling, yet potentially
elusive, opportunity. Earthy, indigenous materials
including timber, steel and Viridian performance
glazing form a highly convincing connection to place.
The new building defers to the old cottage
strengthening the other in the process.
A painterly appreciation of vista appears to draw
closer a dam immediately south, rolling hills and bay
to the south-east and a vast window wall to the east.
It is an ingeniously refined solution, strong yet so
slender as to almost provide a floating, unsupported
library wall.
The lustrous, broadly delta-shaped shell speaks of
prototype rather than stereotype - as if the architect
has taken a pair of scissors to playing cards to create a
playfully serious lightweight model. Windows and walls
flex, open and yield in surprising ways. Other windows
and breezeways are artfully concealed - a joyful blend
of design detail and meticulous carpentry. Vast sliding
glass walls, fixed windows and operable timber panels
capture views every bit as thrilling as any on landscape
view at the national gallery.
Shearer’s Quarters