Victoria
Embedded into the landscape, ‘Ha Ha Haus’ is located in a leafy pocket of Alphington (Wurundjeri Country) where front fences are a refreshingly rare sighting. Our client’s design brief centred around a close knit family home which caters for frequent visitors from Overseas, intergenerational living and a transient occupancy. The single storey design addresses long term ageing-in-place and responds to the sloping site and adjoining context. The floor plan is a donut form surrounding a central landscaped courtyard, a place of refuge and a key design element grounded on the passive solar principles of maximising cross ventilation and northern glazing to what most would deem a challenging site with a south facing backyard. From the footpath, the project aims to give back to the streetscape into which it is sleeved. A landscaped mound beguiles and conceals a 20,000L rainwater tank and a low lying house.
Our home’s layout allows us to be more interactive as a family. It allows for connections with family members through windows around the courtyard and enables smooth flow of daily activities. We love that we have a lot of natural light which lifts our mood, makes us feel happier and helps us work towards our sustainability goal.
The close connection with the outside environment is very calming. The house changes significantly during the year as the seasons change, this creates a great rhythm together with the colours and materials that provide us with a calm and peaceful feeling.
The Australian Institute of Architects acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
