Zinc House
Melbourne, Australia
Project 1999 – 2010
A sophisticated house blending art, high design and one family’s dignified living aspirations.
Ingeniously integrated with factory remnants and level constraints on the site, the new building is a strong yet respectful neighbour in its inner urban precinct. The simple austere grey cement façade hints at the first use of zinc deployed in the blade screen that stretches across a large horizontal aperture.
From the front door onwards it is the dextrous use of zinc which permeates throughout, softening the other palette of concrete floors and plaster. A section of thick zinc-clad wall pivots to allow access through an art gallery and living space, to the more private spaces of the house. Art and family living merge and flow throughout.
In the absence of traditional domesticity, Zinc House expresses a coolly ordered calm. It is architecture of unpretentious substance, restraint and refinement.
2011 AIA National Award for Residential Architecture – Houses
2011 AIA (VIC) Award for Residential Architecture – Alterations and Additions
