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Hedge and Arbour by Studio Bright is a testament to the intimate connection between landscape and architecture.
Located in a leafy Melbourne suburb, the site was in a unique position to explore this connection.
At the rear, the new family home borders a dense stretch of native bushland with a creek below, while the facade is hidden by a tall sculptural hedge, nestled within a classically suburban streetscape.
This juxtaposition — combined with the client’s interest in gardening and modernist architecture — encouraged Studio Bright principal and design director Mel Bright to design the house as a canvas for further immersive landscaping.
‘We borrowed from the success of the hedge “wall” to insert layers arraying in plan, delineating space and mediating privacy through two built mechanisms — a garden wall and arbour,’ Mel says.
Robust blockwork walls form an unconventional partition at the entrance, softened by the wild appearance of a soft and loose native garden, designed by Sarah Hicks of Emergent Studios.
The second ‘layer’ is a delicate mesh screen, forming an arbour with integrated planting that envelops the cement-sheet clad house in changing greenery.
‘The exterior mesh doubles as a climbing frame for deciduous vines, forming an integrated shading system that admits winter sunlight deep into the interior, while shielding occupants from harsh summer heat,’ Mel says.
‘Opposed to treating the garden as an ornamental or separate element, it was conceived as a continuation of the surrounding bushland reserve — forming a sequence of landscape rooms that dissolve the boundary between suburbia and escarpment.’
Passive principles guided the floor plan, maximising natural sunlight and ventilation.
Central living spaces stretch across the centre of the property, opening directly to the gardens at the front and the ‘traditional’ lawn overlooking the parklands at the rear. The bedrooms, bathroom and study are neatly tucked into a perpendicular wing, as a palette of blackbutt timber joinery, charcoal paint and concrete floors characterises the calming, sun-lit interiors.
All materials were selected to ensure the property was durable and relatively low maintenance, turning the focus on the gardens at every opportunity.
Mel says her team and the clients are proud of how the home speaks to the surrounding context and the seasons, marked by the changing colour of the vines and immersive gardens. It’s always evolving.
