The Sawmill House

Architecture - by Stephen Crafti

The Sawmill House by newly formed practice Archier, has received a swag of awards, including an award from the Australian Institute of Architects (Victorian Chapter) this year. Murmurs around the 800-strong thronged audience attending the award night centred on who is Archier and why haven’t we heard of them before?

Chris Gilbert is one of three directors of Archier, which is still a small practice with two directors, including Gilbert, based in Melbourne and a third partner located in Hobart. Their first house, located in Yackandandah, on a 4,000-square- metre plot, a four-hour drive from Melbourne, received a Commendation award from the Institute. Adjacent to what was once a gold mine before becoming home to a sawmilling business, the modest pavilion-style house is quietly understated perched above the disused quarry.

Courtesy Archier Architecture

Designed for Gilbert’s brother, sculptor Ben Gilbert, the duo worked closely not only on the design, but also the construction, which took about a year to build. “Originally Ben was living in a shed, not really thinking that he’d need anything more,” says Gilbert. However, in recent times, Ben met his partner and the couple had a child. Hence, the need for something a little more substantial was required. “Their baby daughter arrived just two weeks after the house was completed,” says Gilbert.

In keeping with the rustic surrounds, and on a reasonably small budget, Archier looked to using simple recycled materials that could be found nearby. So reclaimed waste concrete was used in a variety of hues, remnants from footpaths and even supermarkets nearby. Macracarpa, a fine but strong timber often used for farm windbreaks, was also included for screens. “Ben was looking a place that was tactile, worn and quite rustic, something that felt it had been crafted by hand,” says Gilbert.

Courtesy Archier Architecture

The scheme, an elongated pavilion, with a footprint of seven metres wide by 24 metres in length (including the generous four-metre-wide verandah) is a poetic gesture that beautifully expresses the patina of the materials. A black steel roof that includes a sliding panel that can be drawn across the courtyard in summer or ‘peeled back’ in winter, adds to the changeability of the rectangular form. Likewise, the macracarpa screens, orientated to the north, allow for diffused or full sun to enter the house depending on the time of the year.

The Sawmill House has a strong Japanese feel, with one extruded into space. At one end is a lounge, framed by the offcuts of concrete as a feature wall. And at the opposite end of the house is the main, and only bedroom, complete with a study nook. The central space is then given over to the kitchen and dining area. The only enclosed space is the bathroom, concealed behind one of the brass doors adjacent to the bedroom. Although there are few walls, the main bedroom can be screened by two large pivotal doors clad in chalkboard. This will undoubtedly be a wonderful surface for the child in a couple of years’ time, or equally as a place for reminders or shopping lists.

Courtesy Archier Architecture

One of the most striking features of the Sawmill House is the exquisite brass wall of joinery, beautifully detailed by simple timber rod-style handles. Appearing almost like patchwork, each door was treated with apple cider vinegar to create a weathered look. “We wanted to create a sense of the hand, whether it’s the baby’s tiny fingerprints along the bottom edges or the parents, or even visitors. It’s about marking time and seeing how the baby’s growth will be registered across the surface over many years,” says Gilbert.

Courtesy Archier Architecture

At the centre of the bronze wall is a cutout of shelving made from red stringy bark, like the floors. “It’s a very simple house, but it was important to create a ‘chiselled’ effect to the outdoors,” says Gilbert, who was also responding to his brother’s sculptures, many of which find their home in prominent outdoor spaces.

This house is only 90 square metres internally (the size of an apartment). The verandah accounts for an additional 50 square metres. But the heartfelt nature of the project, complete with the handmade furniture designed by the Gilbert brothers, makes this project not only worthy of its many awards, but a jewel in this rural location.