When you buy a property next to a lake, framing water views seems like the natural design response. However, when the view is located in the opposite direction of the sun, a design dilemma ensues. 

Kennedy Nolan architects were faced with this predicament in a recent Ballarat project, calling for a masterful design response. Their solution – raise the home’s facade up a half-step to take advantage of the lake, while adding in north-facing clerestory windows throughout. These windows ensure ample natural light (important for navigating Ballarat’s cold winters), while the elevation facilitates lake views and privacy away from the adjacent busy road. 

Another key challenge was to give this brand new home a mid-century feel – almost impossible in a new build! Kennedy Nolan managed to achieve this in collaboration with their client, and builder Spence Construction. 

‘The client liked American looking ‘Brady Bunch’ style houses…. They also liked a subtropical vibe, which isn’t really appropriate for Ballarat,’ says Patrick Kennedy, co-founding director and principal at Kennedy Nolan. ‘In the end, we settled on a design with nostalgic elements to it with the stone and classic modernist feel, while managing proximity to the lake.’

‘They didn’t want anything ostentatious – they wanted something much more low-key – so it’s designed to fall back into the landscape over time,’ Patrick says.  

Photos of this home were taken just eight months after completion, but lush vines and foliage can already be seen stretching across the property’s walls. ‘Everything was designed to establish pretty quickly, but also to grow over time,’ Patrick says. ‘There’s some big trees that will come up over the next 20 years.’

In the decades to come, the home’s natural materials will gracefully age and patina, walls will be engulfed in vines, and tree canopies will join in a green dome. A truly timeless home, destined to age gracefully!