Piermont House

Architect: Rachcoff Vella, 2013

Centre

Building Description

Embracing the semi-rural Australian landscape and creating a platform for an engaging young family were the key drivers in this exciting new project. Designed by Melbourne-based practice, Rachcoff Vella Architecture, the house is conceived as a uniquely sculptural built form that is the starting point to a master plan of sculpture and landscaped gardens on a 10-acre site. Having lived in a modest weatherboard cottage on the site, the clients were familiar with their context, however the existing house turned its back on most of the site and prohibited a more fluid relationship. The clients’ brief was for a series of wings, spread out into the landscape, making a strong connection with key aspects of the site. The glass pavilion, for example, engages with its environment and adjacent terraces through its transparent operable façade. Each occupant has at least one specifically designed space in the house allowing them to individually, as well as collectively, experience a custom-designed outcome. Well-crafted, bespoke details were important to the overall design, such as the three-metre-wide front door and illuminated door handle, swivel vanity mirrors, school-desk library joinery, custom wardrobes, and gallery spaces, to name a few. Piermont allows the inhabitants to fully experience the environment around them and to feel integral to the overall master plan concept.