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The design for the Magnolia Soul house came from ‘the stunning magnolia x soulangeana tree located in the client’s backyard’ explains Shae Parker McCasher, director of Green Sheep Collective. Shae describes how the house was designed to showcase the tree’s changing foliage throughout the seasons, while also embodying passive solar design principles. As the tree cyclically blooms and rejuvenates, the house echoes these changes through clever window positioning, double glazing, thermal mass and insulation. The beauty of being green!
The angled ceiling and high window in the apex of the roofline offer a framed view of the tree through the seasons, as well as allowing soft dappled light into the centre of the home. The residents can nestle into the window seat to relax, read, ‘admire the flowering magnolia or sit at the edge of the garden’ Shae enthuses. The living room space is sunken, increasing the thermal mass of the home, in addition to creating what Shae describes as a ‘playful step, that doubles as informal seating between the deck and dining area.’
The brief for this home was to generate a ‘warm, robust and pet-friendly extension, which celebrates the mature magnolia tree and maximises the garden area’ Shae describes. This informed the strategy for designing efficient and highly functional internal spaces, with a small building footprint and emphasis on the garden.
The Magnolia Soul property places the environment at the forefront of the design, both through the sustainable design ethos, and the focus on the tree as the heart of the home. Shae explains that the design is intended to be ‘unique, robust and exciting, a space that people want to live in, maintain and cherish for years to come.’ The perfect space for this family and their much-loved magnolia tree to grow together, over time.
