Inhabitat » East Meets West Down Under: Leura House by James Stockwell

August 21, 2008

East Meets West Down Under: Leura House by James Stockwell

by Haily Zaki

james stockwell, leura house, sustainable architecture, new south wales, wilkinson award 2008, sydney australia, blue mountains, green building

Nestled in the picturesque Blue Mountains near Sydney is James Stockwell’s Leura House, winner of the 2008 Wilkinson Award - the Australian Institute of Architects New South Wales’ highest accolade for a residential project. Inspired by Japanese design methods and informed by warm California modernism, this sleek dwelling embodies a new and decidedly Australian brand of contemporary sustainable architecture, marking Stockwell as one of the country’s top young architects.

james stockwell, leura house, sustainable architecture, new south wales, wilkinson award 2008, sydney australia, blue mountains, green building

Drawing upon Japanese architect Takamasa Yoshizaka’s method of ‘discontinuous unity’ (or the fine art of incomplete space) Stockwell creates open-ended spaces without defined thresholds, blurring the line between indoor and outdoor. Walls aren’t there to enclose, but rather to cause pause as one journeys through the space.

With a nod toward Ray Kappe’s brand of California modernism, Stockwell lets the “natural layer” shine through, drawing inspiration from the geology and landscape of the edges, cliffs, caves, and ponds of the surrounding Blue Mountains. The house almost unfolds out of the earth as the last level of the landscape before descending down to the valley. Two perpendicular pavilions enclose a gently sloping landscaped space, naturally framing the expansive valley view. Over this, Stockwell lays a uniquely Australian palette of materials which pay homage to the historic lineage of the early timber and corrugated iron buildings of the region.

Besides being drop dead gorgeous, Leura House is also deeply sustainable. Rammed earth walls made from crushed local sandstone with cement, iron stone and quartz provide excellent insulation. Simple passive methods that warm and cool the house are backed up by a hydroponic heating and cooling system. The house even produces its own power and water. Having honed his design skills with Peter Stutchbury, Stockwell has been involved with several award-winning projects, but Leura House gives him his first prize for his own practice. We’re excited to see what comes next.

+ James Stockwell

james stockwell, leura house, sustainable architecture, new south wales, wilkinson award 2008, sydney australia, blue mountains, green building

3 Responses to “East Meets West Down Under: Leura House by James Stockwell”

morellid Says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 10:57 pm

Excessive wasted space, marble imported from half way around the world, and expansive lawns in a drought sticken continent do not represent sustainable architecture. Why does inhabitat continually characterize the beautiful homes featured in its blog as sustainable. Please, don’t misunderstand me. A great deal of the posts feature advancements in design and architecture which are sustainable. But many of the luxury homes are not sustainable (if everyone did it, could the earth survive?).

Cat Says:

August 28th, 2008 at 4:03 am

@ moredllid
I’m not seeing any mention of imported marble, although the amount of turfed area is fairly unimpressive. That’s not to say it wasn’t reused from the existing site, it doesn’t look particularly lush or green as most imported turf does.

The space doesn’t look excessively large to me, the interior shots look generous but the exterior shows the true scale of the building, and it’s hardly a McMansion. The rammed earth walls are beautiful, and the quality of light is simply stunning.

Frankly, until recently it was near impossible to get clients in the Australian market to do something as basic as installing a water tank, so the fact that we now have houses such as this which produce their own water and power and can be heated and cooled via hydroponics is definitely a fantastic step in the right direction.

morellid Says:

September 1st, 2008 at 10:14 am

Dear Cat,

“The loft [alone] is designed to sleep 12 grandchildren[.]” (http://www.jamesstockwell.com.au/projects/leura.htm) The bedrooms have their own wing. I think we can agree that our definition of “excessive” in regards to shelter differs.

You are correct that the article does not mention any use of marble. My comment in this regards was predicated on my observation of the bathroom. I am confident that the material is not Blue Mountain native sandstone. Perhaps it is some type of marbled igneous rock (again, not native to Australia), but I doubt it. It looks to me like marble, and to my knowledge Australia has no substantive deposits of marble. Thus, the marble would have to have been imported from somewhere (although, China, the closest large producer of marble products, is not half way around the world).

The lower regions of the Blue Mountains receive enough rainfall to sustain an expansive lawn, but I think most environmentalists would agree that given global demographics lawns are a luxury and, in the long term, unsustainable.

Steps forward are always desirable over no steps at all. And I would naturally prefer to see this home built versus an ostentatious McMansion. But, I must reiterate that the question that must be asked, “If everyone did it, would the world be a better place?” (I had to change my previous “could the earth survive” because it would of course survive.) If everyone in the world had a vacation home for themselves, their children, their grandchildren, and their friends then I think the world would be a worse off place. The path to sustainability starts with ourselves, and requires the commitment to living with less, not more.

Please, do not misunderstand me. Inhabitat is my single favorite blog. I religiously check this blog every day. So much of the posts spark my imagination and make me believe that we may just survive. Thank you for your hard work. Please, just remember that sustainability must be equitable, and equity for 9.7 billion people in 2150 means much smaller shelters.

Sincerely,

morellid

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

Please note that gratuitous links to your site are viewed as spam and may result in removed comments.