Story by Mahmood Fazal

How does it feel to live as though you are at one with nature? The answer might be nestled high on Wombat Hill in Daylesford; Hardwood House. The country home represents a sanguine escape that captures the mood of the respective culture through design that is drenched in history.

For Hardwood House, Melbourne architect Adam Kane fuses the romantic mood of alpine European chalets with nuanced modernity – built in collaboration with his parents, former design director Barry Ludlow and interior designer Renata Kane.

The Hardwood House was designed with a flexible floor plan that serves as a home for his parents, or two luxury rentals with private entrances, facilities and views. When asked about the process of collaborating with his parents, Adam said, “We would constantly be calling each other and emailing through ideas, and catching up for dinner, we would quickly move the plates aside and start drawing.”

“The building is somewhat of a contemporary version of the historic miners’ cottages of
the area. Daylesford and the surrounds are our favourite rural areas for architecture.

A country aesthetic needs to be referenced within the design, without simply replicating
a mock miner’s cottage,” explains Adam. “Architecture needs to reference the setting, and a response of materiality or form that would be appropriate for Daylesford, wouldn’t work down at the beach or in the city.”

In the late 1800s, the miners of Cornish and German origin implemented their traditional building skills to build homes close to their work sites. Miners' cottages would be unadorned, single storey with double gable roof extensions, creating the distinctive zig-zag outline. Reflecting the virtues of labourers, the traditional cottages would pride function over style – Hardwood House evokes the beauty of history by revealing the bones of that functionality.

“The honesty of expressing the gabled façade internally, was quite rewarding.” Adam explains with pride, “It was important that from both inside and out, it read as the same house. Had we designed a traditional at ceiling it would have also lost the sense of openness and theatre.” The result is a dramatic ambience that combines dark wood and orange hues that evokes the age-old tranquillity of a reside conversation.

“The timber floor, wall and ceiling linings, all of which were locally sourced and hand finished, add a sense of warmth and luxury for the inhabitants, whilst referencing the surrounding plantation,” explains Adam. “From early on in the design process we strived for a unique approach to the use of timber...rough- sawn timber was selected as wall and ceiling linings and treated in a warm, deep, hand stained nish, achieving a sense of enclosure and comfort.”

Each of the rooms, delicately frame views of the garden like moving images; a seasonal kaleidoscope of dark greens, sombre violets and fading pink. With consistent reflection of the outdoors, Adam has managed to illustrate the comfort of living amongst nature.

Adam Kane Architects 03 9690 2689 adamkane.com.au