Yanakie House by Richard Stampton Architects

An intriguing series of volumes that welcomes and closes off from its bushland locale, this Victorian residence explores and pushes the defined boundaries of what a house can be.

Australian bushland, in all its diverse forms, is complex and evocative. To build within it and unavoidably destroy part of it is a troubling prospect for any architect. Late in the 20th century, Australian architectural luminaries such as Glenn Murcutt and Richard Leplastrier drew on a modest, rural vernacular to distil an architecture seemingly at ease within this environment. Gradually, their approach became cemented as the authoritatively ‘appropriate’ response. These were beautifully wrought buildings, but so convincing that they were quickly aped, and their sensitivity to specific conditions translated into a somewhat dogmatic, underthought and generic response. (...)

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