By Robertson's Building Products
Krause Emperor bricks cleverly link old with new, creating a warm family home in Armadale.
Wrapping itself around an existing mature pine-oak tree, this immaculately designed and built freestanding home is set within a lush, green landscape, is rich in natural materials and perfectly integrates with the heritage precinct in Melbourne’s Armadale.
Reno Rizzo, Director of Inarc Architects, says the design intent of the home was “To not only integrate the home into the landscape but maintain the importance of the pine-oak tree, having the towering specimen be admired from as many spaces in the home and garden as possible. So we divided the first floor of the house into two wings, separated by a bridge-like area to allow views into the tree canopy.” The effect is absolutely stunning.
Of course, the material selection was also important to achieve seamless integration with both the landscape and heritage streetscape. The house is surrounded by a beautiful mix of heritage architectural-styled homes using brickwork, steeply pitched tiled roofs, slender window openings, and detailed ornamentation. And what Inarc cleverly created for its clients is a finely crafted contemporary interpretation of this heritage style.
Being a huge fan of the Old English Tudor homes, Inarc selected a colour palette to tone in well with that style. And Krause Emperor bricks in Grampian Blue were the perfect fit. The colour of the bricks works beautifully with the nearby Old English Tudor homes, perfectly combines with the external details – including bronze-coloured metals, grey timbers, and the slate dual-hipped roof – and ties in well with the surrounding, lush vegetation.
In fact, Inarc and its clients found that the Krause Emperor brick is more than just an ordinary brick. Not only does it offer much warmer tones to match the English Tudor style, in browns, reds, rusts, and a slight tinge of mauve, but it also offers greater creativity in its end use. As Reno says, “It looks more unusual, more like a tapestry than just a brick, so you’re able to do more things with the mortar joint and patterning.”
Bricks are a prominent material used in the home’s design and are carried through from the outside façade, complete with a striking brick arch, to the inside design, being used as a feature wall in a basket weave pattern around the fireplace, on the stairwell and on a selection of walls on the upper level.
As you can see, the Armadale Treehouse is a beautifully designed home of great architectural, interior design, and landscape design sensitivity. It’s really no surprise that the owners simply love their new space and have had their expectations exceeded in every way. Reno adds, “The aesthetic appreciation of the building, its function, and the way it fits into the neighbourhood are a source of great daily joy.”
For more information on this project please contact Robertson’s Building Products at (03) 8199 9599.
Architect: Inarc Architects
Builder: Leone Constructions
Product: Krause Emperor Bricks, Grampian Blue, 380 x 110 x 45mm
Photographer: Peter Clarke
A building products innovator, Robertson's Building Products provides innovative, customised wall and floor solutions to help architects, designers, builders and homeowners transform their visions into practical, high quality, award-winning designs, and leading edge projects in their field.
What sets us apart is the unique nature, breadth and quality of the products we supply, their flexibility to adapt to your project’s requirements, and the personalised service and proven expertise we bring to develop the best solution for you.
Our unique clay, glass and stone bricks and brick facing tiles and brick slips will enrich and invigorate your projects with their unconventional and contrasting textures, and their countless special colours and sizes, helping you to achieve state of the art designs. Using our products, your project won’t look like anything else on the street, but will become the leader others seek to follow.
And, our product range keeps growing. We’re continuously developing existing products and sourcing new bricks and thin brick tiles, both locally and internationally.
Just think of Robertson's Building Products as your partner in design: our approach is collaborative, considered and open, driven by a love of good design. We listen carefully, understand your needs and use our proven industry expertise to make it easy for you to find the best solution.