Done House
New South Wales, Australia · 1991
Photo · Photo by Reiner Blunck
A key precedent for Glenn Murcutt's urban work, demonstrating a bold use of primary colors, industrial steel framing, and adjustable external louvers integrated with a masonry base on a sloping site.
- What we like about this project
- Three polished stainless steel exhaust pipes clustered vertically between the two blue steel volumes.
Materials
- steel
- stucco
- sandstone
- glass
- aluminum
Visual identifiers
- blue-steel-frame
- yellow-stucco-walls
- external-venetian-blinds
- sandstone-retaining-walls
- industrial-chimney-pipes
Style tags
- high-tech
- regionalist
- modernist
Visual tags
- high-tech
- hillside-housing
- vibrant-color
- metal-framing
- australian-modernism
- Geometry
- The building is composed of two primary cubic volumes with bright blue steel frames, set atop a solid, textured yellow stucco base. The structure is nestled into a sloping site supported by rustic sandstone retaining walls.
- Facade system
- Steel-framed curtain wall with integrated external venetian blinds and operable glazing.
- Structural guess
- Exposed steel portal frame on a reinforced concrete and masonry base.
- Spatial scale
- Two-story residential scale with a prominent street-facing presence.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight under a blue sky with scattered clouds, casting crisp shadows that define the structural steel profiles and stucco recesses.
- Atmosphere
- Lively and sun-drenched, combining industrial precision with a warm, coastal garden setting.
- Environmental context
- Suburban hillside setting in Australia, surrounded by lush subtropical plantings, palms, and native trees.
- Spatial experience
- The approach climbs a sloping driveway, transitioning from naturalistic sandstone terracing to a highly structured, vibrant entry portal. The elevated living spaces look out over the landscape through large, screened openings.
- Composition rhythm
- Symmetrical dual-bay steel frames balanced by asymmetrical sandstone terracing and vertical stainless steel exhaust flues.
- Style reading
- High-Tech Australian Regionalism
- Program
- Single-family residence
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- steel, stucco, sandstone, glass, aluminum
- Visual identifiers
- blue-steel-frame, yellow-stucco-walls, external-venetian-blinds, sandstone-retaining-walls, industrial-chimney-pipes
- Style tags
- high-tech, regionalist, modernist
- Visual tags
- high-tech, hillside-housing, vibrant-color, metal-framing, australian-modernism
- Geometry
- The building is composed of two primary cubic volumes with bright blue steel frames, set atop a solid, textured yellow stucco base. The structure is nestled into a sloping site supported by rustic sandstone retaining walls.
- Facade system
- Steel-framed curtain wall with integrated external venetian blinds and operable glazing.
- Structural guess
- Exposed steel portal frame on a reinforced concrete and masonry base.
- Spatial scale
- Two-story residential scale with a prominent street-facing presence.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight under a blue sky with scattered clouds, casting crisp shadows that define the structural steel profiles and stucco recesses.
- Atmosphere
- Lively and sun-drenched, combining industrial precision with a warm, coastal garden setting.
- Environmental context
- Suburban hillside setting in Australia, surrounded by lush subtropical plantings, palms, and native trees.
- Spatial experience
- The approach climbs a sloping driveway, transitioning from naturalistic sandstone terracing to a highly structured, vibrant entry portal. The elevated living spaces look out over the landscape through large, screened openings.
- Composition rhythm
- Symmetrical dual-bay steel frames balanced by asymmetrical sandstone terracing and vertical stainless steel exhaust flues.
- Style reading
- High-Tech Australian Regionalism
- Program
- Single-family residence
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture