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DERMOT BANNON’S INCREDIBLE HOMES

Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne Image Name: Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne
Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne Image Name: Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne
Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne Image Name: Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne
Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne 4 Image Name: Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne 4
Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne 3 Image Name: Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne 3
Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne 2 Image Name: Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne 2
Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne Image Name: Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne Description: Architect Rodney Eggleston with Dermot at The Compound house which he designed for a client in Melbourne.
Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne Image Name: Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne Description: Architect Rodney Eggleston with Dermot at The Compound house which he designed for a client in Melbourne.
Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne Image Name: Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes ep2 Melbourne

 

Episode 2: Melbourne

In Episode 2 of “Dermot Bannon’s Incredible Homes”, Dermot visits the ‘cultural capital’ of Australia, Melbourne. Melbourne may not be known for its landmark buildings, yet its architecture is fresh.

Walking through the leafy suburb of Brighton, one might be surprised to come across the uncompromising Compound House. From the street, the house reads as a floating pavilion propped up on a sloping landscape. Its copper screen cladding creates fuzzy edges that shimmer in the sunlight.

The client, who wanted to stay anonymous, allowed architect Rodney Eggleston to do what he wanted.  He requested something polarizing, something different to the streetscape.  Exposure of materials was important as well as incorporating systems for the steel industry (the owner works in the steel industry).

The architect deliberately removed the fence to allow the house to be viewed. The owners wanted parking for 14 cars, but Rodney insisted that there would be no house left.  So he allowed parking for 6!

Compound House is architecturally brilliant, having won numerous awards but it’s also a playground for the owners – with a fireman’s pole down to the basement, a swimming pool, space for the million dollar cars and a gym.

Research House is owned by the highly regarded architect John Henry and his partner Deb.   Built for a modest €160,000, this house is like no other.  There are very few walls and five open ‘rooms’.  The southern façade is glazed, opening the inside to the bush beyond and elements from the external landscape have been incorporated inside the design, through the use of boulders, a pond and the vast vegetation.

John has a passion for the powerful connections between light and space and the dynamic relationship between intersecting floor levels.  In response a series of platforms were created to seem to float above the natural terrain below, as well as native shrubs and trees.

John also has a ‘condition’ – he cannot stop buying mid century art and furniture.  This house has to be seen to be believed, and whilst it took the couple a while to get used to living in a space that has no air conditioning, (in a city where temperatures can reach over 35 degrees), they and Dermot love it.

In this episode, Dermot takes a bit of a detour.  He has heard of a property in Cape Tribulation, up in Queensland, which he just couldn’t resist.

A three hour flight and a four hour drive deep into the Daintree Rainforest, stands Alkira.  Designed by Charles Wright, this formidable house stands in its own lake.  Its totally off grid, can withstand category 5 hurricanes, and is completely open air, apart from the 6 bedroom pods.

Among the build challenges, the swimming pool representing a stylised interpret­ation of the head and shoulders of a famous Aborigine (nicknamed “One Pound Jimmy”) featured on two 1950s Australian stamps, is an engineering marvel.

Close by is The Great Barrier Reef and all forms of wild life could, if they so choose, wander through the house.  This gives Dermot some concern, to say the least.

At the heart of the house is a sheltered space consisting of a pool surrounded by garden and then by communal living space.

From the air it looks like a lotus flower but from the ground it wouldn’t be out of place in Star Wars.

 

Boneo Country House, designed by architect John Wardle is situated on the Mornington Peninsula, two hours drive from Melbourne.  It’s a working farm sitting on 65 acres, looking out over rolling hills, down to the sea.

Entry is through a glass link between old and new where a glimpse of the view is afforded before venturing inside. Local timber is used to line the interior, with varying textures across floor, walls and joinery. The interior is like a cabinet, a place to wander through, a place for refuge and prospect.

A copper exterior hovers over the landscape, creating spaces that push out towards the water.

Melissa Razuki takes Dermot on a tour of her magnificent home.  And he is smitten. The design concept of this house is incredibly simple. Three pods shoot off in different directions each offering up one very powerful but controlled view. They focus the eye just like a picture frame.

For the final house in the Melbourne episode, Dermot stays on the Mornington Peninsula and travels down to the coast, where he meets architect Robin Williams and his partner, opera singer Donald Cant.

Williams and Cant were keen to replace their old, rudimentary beach cottage with a more spacious home that they would look forward to returning to after travelling.  The result was Villa Marittima.

The 6m-high polycarbonate garage-like door slides back to reveal a concrete floor, angled at a 6.2-degree slope and on which a bed is placed. It’s an unusual choice, but not an arbitrary one. Williams says, ‘I spent a considerable amount of time exploring the sand dunes to find the most comfortable position. I took hundreds of photos to get the comfort factor right. If the ground is too flat, it’s uncomfortable’.

In oder to maintain design purity, the architect was keen to conceal almost everything that’s normally associated with a home. The wardrobe and ensuite bathroom, for instance, are hidden behind an internal polycarbonate wall. The kitchen and dining area is just as restrained. Even the kitchen unit, also clad in polycarbonate, recedes into a wall in three parts.  The central portion is given over to cooking, while a third component, orientated towards a swimming pool, is perfect for enjoying the morning sunlight.

 

Dermot Bannon’s Incredible Homes

 Series overview

In the new series of “Dermot Bannon’s Incredible Homes”, Ireland’s best-known architect showcases some of the world’s most amazing homes. From sunny Sydney to London city, from stylish Melbourne to the snowy landscape of northern Sweden, Dermot explores how people live around the globe in this four part series.

Sometimes it is the homes themselves and sometimes it is the people behind the homes that are the star of these shows.

A city pad worth £30million in Mayfair in London, a cave inspired house that has a 3 metre python in the rainforest back garden, an isolated log cabin in snowy Sweden and a massive poly-carbonate structure with a swimming pool in the bedroom are some of the more unusual houses that Dermot visits.

Episode 1: Sydney

Episode 2: Melbourne

Episode 3: Sweden

Episode 4: London