Awards

AWARDS

2019 AIA Victorian Architecture Awards
Residential Architecture - Houses (New) Award Springhill House

Jury Citation

“Springhill House impressively balances the aspirations of the architecture with the realities of a tight budget. Lovell Burton have taken every opportunity to elevate their response to the site and the owners. The simple structural rhythm of the building frame creates efficiencies in construction while responding to the local vernacular of hay sheds. Grouping of wet areas simplifies plumbing but also assists in zoning the house. The careful siting of the building allows simple arrangement of the living area and bedroom to frame three distinct landscapes: the western tree canopy, the foreground paddock to the north and the distant eastern views. The concrete structural slab provides thermal mass and grounds the timber tectonics. The plywood sheet adheres to the structural grid, provides bracing and adds warm tones to the interior. The galvanised sheet reflects the western sun and colours of the surrounding landscape, while providing adequate fire resistance. The floor plan, room proportions are all tightly controlled however there is enough attention to human comfort that this rigor feels like the logical culmination of the architects’ care for their clients and site.”



2018 Houses Awards
Housing (New House Under 200 Sqm) Award Springhill House

Jury Citation

“Springhill House makes a significant contribution to residential architecture in Australia. It responds to its setting, brief and budget with utility, clarity and rigour. Sited on a north-facing slope in a disused agricultural paddock, this house for an author is both economical and delightful. The canny, efficient plan is organized by a rhythmic linear form that relates to structural bays. Slender timber portal frames allow for clear spans and a large, single-pitch roof that provides shade of varying depth around the house, which is broadened or contracted according to orientation and strong solar passive design principles.

The structural rhythm is broken on the north side to mark a large opening to living areas, and is sheathed on the southern arrival side by galvanized sheet cladding, which gives the house a taut, sheer expression - tough, yet gleaming and mirage-like. Internally, the house is planned to avoid circulation space, with open living areas and a tight service spine, flanked on each end by a study with framed but expansive views. Springhill House demonstrates that designing within limits, minimizing material and spatial excess and building on tradition can lead to unembellished yet exceptional occupation.”