Cabbage Tree House / Peter Stutchbury Architecture

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Historically, residential buildings are rarely questioned for their sensitivities; should we repeat the past and occupy a box, fill it with stuff, and find solace in the computer screen? Here revisit values of sociability, shared care, awareness, consciousness? Can a house promote such values or is it purely the occupants?Sustainability is easily misrepresented. In its purest form, the sustainability of a building stems from decisions that demonstrate a true understanding and respect for the environmental factors it will face. Siting is a significant concern - dependent upon latitude and location. Cabbage Tree House was located, and materials were selected, based on site character and solar management. Thermal mass is used to both hold and transfer heat and as a consequence, the internal temperatures of the building vary only minimally, from winter to summer. The building is located due north and splayed to capture the winter sun. The angled east façade was positioned to channel cool breezes entering the valley from Pittwater through the building in summer.An elemental and restrained building has enabled a cost-effective outcome on a demanding site.The project is a sum of its understanding across disciplines. The initial framing of land was delivered by Peter Stutchbury Architecture and continues to be regenerated by Luke Dewing of Joshua Tree Landscapes. The structural integrity of a complex masonry insert was delivered by Richard Matheson of van der Meer Consulting, who tied the core of the building to rock strata up to 9000 mm below the surface.Text description provided by the architects.The site is a north-facing small escarpment that is characterized by a large floating rock shelf, and a waterway that stems from a distant catchment and flows steadily to the coastal bay through remnant swamplands. Cabbage Tree House is a member of the hillside – a physical participant of the character of this place. It anchors with purpose and sits with logic against the hill.Cabbage Tree House is a considered investigation into raw living, a track to past habits, and a shelter that is more reminiscent of a cave than a shed. As world values shift and the strength of awareness diminishes, Cabbage Tree House challenges what part the house plays within the current scenario of housing. The building is elaborate only in its restraint.The building is elemental, almost cave-like, and has a horizontality that places the layers of the building as primary contours of the hillside; one safely traverses the land physically and emotionally with the house. The bold leaning façade plays poetically with both the sky and the immediate land. This is a building that unashamedly becomes one with its locale.