Simpson-Lee House
New South Wales, Australia · 1994
Photo · Photo by Glenn Murcutt
A precedent for lightweight, climate-responsive residential design in natural landscapes, demonstrating how a reflecting pool and elevated walkway can transition between wild nature and a refined steel-and-glass pavilion.
- What we like about this project
- The reflecting pool acts as a physical barrier and a visual bridge, separating the public approach from the private glazed living zone.
Materials
- corrugated-metal
- steel
- glass
- timber-decking
- aluminum-louvers
Visual identifiers
- reflecting-pool
- corrugated-cladding
- timber-bridge
- cantilevered-roof
- external-louvers
Style tags
- regional-modernism
- high-tech-rustic
- minimalist
Visual tags
- bushland-architecture
- water-feature
- lightweight-structure
- regional-modernism
- indoor-outdoor
- Geometry
- An angled, single-pitch roof with a sharp, cantilevered prow-like eave projects over a glazed pavilion. A linear timber bridge runs parallel to a rectangular reflecting pool, creating a strong horizontal axis.
- Facade system
- Glazed window wall with external adjustable aluminum louvers for solar control.
- Structural guess
- Lightweight steel frame with timber joists and metal deck roofing.
- Spatial scale
- Single-story residential scale, elevated slightly above the natural ground plane.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting sharp reflections on the water surface and highlighting the metallic textures of the corrugated cladding and louvers.
- Atmosphere
- Serene and highly integrated with nature, where the stillness of the water mirrors the surrounding eucalyptus trees.
- Environmental context
- Nestled at the edge of a dense eucalyptus forest in a natural Australian bushland setting.
- Spatial experience
- The transition from the natural bushland is mediated by a raised timber walkway suspended over a reflecting pool, leading toward a highly transparent living pavilion that blurs the boundary between interior and exterior.
- Composition rhythm
- The horizontal lines of the bridge, pool edge, and louvers contrast with the verticality of the forest trees and the sharp diagonal of the roof.
- Style reading
- Australian Regional Modernism
- Program
- Private residence
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- corrugated-metal, steel, glass, timber-decking, aluminum-louvers
- Visual identifiers
- reflecting-pool, corrugated-cladding, timber-bridge, cantilevered-roof, external-louvers
- Style tags
- regional-modernism, high-tech-rustic, minimalist
- Visual tags
- bushland-architecture, water-feature, lightweight-structure, regional-modernism, indoor-outdoor
- Geometry
- An angled, single-pitch roof with a sharp, cantilevered prow-like eave projects over a glazed pavilion. A linear timber bridge runs parallel to a rectangular reflecting pool, creating a strong horizontal axis.
- Facade system
- Glazed window wall with external adjustable aluminum louvers for solar control.
- Structural guess
- Lightweight steel frame with timber joists and metal deck roofing.
- Spatial scale
- Single-story residential scale, elevated slightly above the natural ground plane.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting sharp reflections on the water surface and highlighting the metallic textures of the corrugated cladding and louvers.
- Atmosphere
- Serene and highly integrated with nature, where the stillness of the water mirrors the surrounding eucalyptus trees.
- Environmental context
- Nestled at the edge of a dense eucalyptus forest in a natural Australian bushland setting.
- Spatial experience
- The transition from the natural bushland is mediated by a raised timber walkway suspended over a reflecting pool, leading toward a highly transparent living pavilion that blurs the boundary between interior and exterior.
- Composition rhythm
- The horizontal lines of the bridge, pool edge, and louvers contrast with the verticality of the forest trees and the sharp diagonal of the roof.
- Style reading
- Australian Regional Modernism
- Program
- Private residence
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture