The architectural approach to this project stemmed from the client's brief and very
strong brief to have a private sanctuary, a house that was really immersive, something
that really envelops them. So it was so much about creating the right experience and the right kinds
of experiences and spaces so that they could live in the house that they'd always envisaged.
I'm Matthew Murfett from Mitsuori Architects, I'm the practice director
and I was the lead on this project. I'm Melissa Lin from Mitsuori Architects,
I'm the principal of the practice and I was one of the design architects on this project.
The Immersion House is located in the inner western suburb of Melbourne, it sits on a corner
site that slopes gradually towards the back and it's in a sort of quiet residential area.
So the inspiration for this project was really around our client's desire to create a sanctuary
and a home that they could raise their family in. And and creating that space,
that immersive experience when inside the home was the key inspiration for us
in terms of how we configured the site and how we craft the architecture around that.
The rear connection to the outdoors was really really important because
in order to create that sense of a singular indoor and outdoor space we
had to connect them almost seamlessly and but very naturally, so you could,
you almost don't detect what is in and what is out when all the doors are folded away.
The rich natural material palette was fundamental to the feeling we
want we wanted to create in this home, so that sense of sanctuary and immersion,
that experience is enhanced by the use of natural materials.
So we're not talking about a big space with white walls,
we're talking about a space that's really textured and really natural,
immersive, and it feels fundamentally connected with its surroundings.
So when we started to think about the product that we would use for the timber work in the home,
we knew that there was going to be a lot of timber work throughout the home. We
needed to find a product that would be really well suited to to all those uses.
When selecting Tongue & Groove boards as the product of choice for this project,
we needed to look at technical aspects as well as design aesthetic. We knew
that the board looks good but we needed to know that it could do
the job in all the applications that we had in mind for it throughout the home.
So the Tongue &Groove boards are used extensively throughout this home we've got them on the floors
in the heritage part of the home, we've got them on the walls and ceilings throughout the
extension, we have them on the staircase, we have them on joinery elements and it's
really a fluid transition from floor to wall to ceiling to joinery, so that
material needed to flow seamlessly throughout the spaces and across all those surfaces.
The reasoning behind selecting such a minimal palette of materials was that when there's a
palette that has a quality that ties it all together, it makes the space sing so it all
exists very harmoniously, the concrete, the timber, the steel all sit together
really well and create a space that has a real feeling of being natural and all enveloping.
The most satisfying aspect of this home was our ability to create a home that
was really focused on the experience for the inhabitants that was our ethos
throughout the entire design process. We also enjoyed creating a new addition that
really celebrated and respected the existing heritage home, the way that it wraps around
that building and opens that building up from within the home was really satisfying as well.
I think the thing we're most proud of on this is, on this project, is that we are situated
on a corner block that's actually quite exposed and we were able to create something that was
so immersive with a whole series of unique experiences as you move through the spaces
and that was really something that the client wanted to achieve but didn't know they they could
achieve when they started the project and and we're so proud to be able to do that for them.