Architect: Brit Andresen and Peter O'Gorman
Location: Point Lookout, North Stradbroke Island; Queensland, Australia
As an Environmental filter: Built on North Stradbroke Island, Mooloomba house is subject to many varying weather conditions. This in mind Andresen and O’Gorman have delivered a house that lets both ample light and ventilation enter the dwelling with out overwhelming the occupants and also keeping the worst of the weather out. They have done this through the use of an array of building materials and construction methods and especially in their use of louvers, low hanging eaves and cross ventilation. In doing all this they have created a house that responds both environmentally and artistically to the needs of both the occupants and the environment.
As a container for human activities: Being built around and along the deck, which in essence acts like the spine of the house, allows the spaces to act as both separate entities and allied spaces. This being said this dual story timber framed masterpiece allows both privacy on the upper story and communal spaces on the ground floor, which, in mind, are further enhanced by the natural essence of the space by the use of natural elements such as timber and the dirt floored court yards.
As a delightful experience: Andresen and O’Gorman have designed a house to fit a landscape so perfectly that at some point it is impossible to tell where one ends and the other starts. This is made more prominent by its stunning location, surrounded by native Banksia and other native foliage, which gives movement through the space a reminiscent tone to that of walking through a forest. It is their use of materials that is the absolute personification of this and allows the magical feeling of being neither inside nor outside whilst completely inside a space.