SOUL STATION

Situated on the fringe of Don Valley in Victoria, this modest holiday home quietly asserts itself within a pastoral landscape of sweeping grazing fields and distant views to the northern mountain ranges. Positioned in the southeast corner of the site, the building embraces a deliberate north-facing orientation, an architectural gesture that invites both sunlight and scenery into the daily rituals of its inhabitants.

​

The home presents as a singular rectangular volume, a study in restraint and proportion. Within this geometry, a carved central void, an intentional absence that operates as a luminous, contemplative space. This open-air "missing quarter" forms the emotional and spatial heart of the home, offering a moment of pause and permeability. Large, folding openings dissolve the boundaries between interior and exterior, encouraging a fluid interaction with the surrounding landscape.

​

Internally, the plan is split with quiet clarity. One end houses the primary bedroom, while the opposite accommodates a secondary sleeping zone, an autonomous haven for the client’s youngest son. This spatial separation introduces a subtle sense of independence while maintaining familial intimacy. A pared-back kitchen anchors the daily routine with humble efficiency, while an adjacent living area, punctuated by a wood-burning fireplace, becomes a seasonal hearth for warmth and reflection. The bathroom and bedroom are similarly unfussy, underscoring the home’s ethos of comfort over display.

​

At its core, this project is more than a retreat, it is a site of restoration. Born out of a period of personal loss, the architecture offers its inhabitants something deeper than shelter. Through simplicity of form, sensitivity to site, and an unwavering connection to nature, the house becomes a quiet vessel for healing. Its presence is neither loud nor decorative, but instead quietly profound, an architecture of solace.