Olinda House

Olinda House sits in the Dandenong Ranges, designed by BENT Architecture for keen gardeners Matt and Leanne following a tree change to the Victorian hills. The practice had worked with Matt on an earlier home, and the brief here was a house that embraces its leafy setting and puts sustainability first.

Built broadly on the footprint of the original dwelling, the design keeps site disturbance low and retains the existing trees. The plan is long and narrow, running east to west to draw in north light, with windows set on opposite walls to catch cooling cross breezes. That orientation keeps the interior warmer in winter and cooler in summer, and 60 roof-mounted solar panels bring running costs right down, with the owners estimating an annual power bill of around $300.

The site carries a moderate bushfire risk and a BAL-29 rating, so material choice did a great deal of work. The home rests on a solid podium of concrete and Timbercrete, a lightweight sustainable block made with waste timber content. The mass of the concrete and blockwork steadies the internal temperature and reinforces the passive solar strategy, while hydronic heating cast into the concrete slab keeps the floors warm on the coldest mornings.

A split-level arrangement follows the natural slope of the land, giving living spaces that connect to one another while keeping a sense of their own. A single angled roof caps the house, pitched against the fall of the site so the living areas gain generous ceiling heights. Its simple form also limits leaf litter and vulnerable junctions on the bushfire-prone site.

Generous windows frame views of the landscape and, from outside, read through the house to the greenery beyond, helping it settle into the site. Locally sourced Ironbark, naturally fire resistant, clads the exterior, and a robust interior palette of polished concrete, Timbercrete blockwork and local hardwood carries the materiality inside.

The home spans 243 square metres across two levels on a 13,120 square metre site, completed in 2019.

Project credits: BENT Architecture (architect; project team Robert Chittleborough, Paul Porjazoski, Lana Blazanin, Merran Porjazoski and Joanna Butler), Greg Scott Constructions (builder), Robin Bliem and Associates (structural engineer) and Kangaroo Paw Landscapes (landscaping). Photography by Tatjana Plitt.