Big Hill House wins architecture awards
Kerstin Thompson Architects, an Australian practice directed by Victoria University Professor Kerstin Thompson, has won three prestigious awards this year for their project titled Big Hill House.
Big Hill House received the Australian Institute of Architects National Commendation, Victorian Chapter New Residential Architecture Award and most recently, Houses Magazine—House of the Year over 200m2 Award.
"In rebuilding for a bush landscape already marked by fire the clients indicated a strong preference for a house that felt 'solid'. This directed our choice of materials to concrete block walls and concrete slabs to achieve a resilient shell both inside and out," says Kerstin.
Timber highlights enrich the interior, and in combination with the black ply ceiling, intensify the colours of the adjacent bush and distant sea-scapes.
"As much about shadows as about light, the house continues Kerstin Thompson Architects interest in dark space, the heightened sense of intimacy and mystery for domestic life that this affords and the retreat it provides from the harsh Australian sun," says Kerstin.
Features such as deep reveals and window seats provide cosy vantage points from which to enjoy the coastal landscape of Victoria's Great Ocean Road.