This Is Lumeah

This is Lumeah – a renovation to a house designed by the legendary architect Paul Couch. The original home is distinctly Paul’s: a rhythm of exposed concrete beams sitting on concrete walls, an exposed slab carried through the interiors, and infill materials chosen with rigour – bluestone paving in the wet areas, solid timber internal doors, stainless steel joinery, hybrid timber-and-steel windows, and ceilings clad in Stramit Board (compressed straw panelling). Not a single surface was painted. The floor became the anchor point. Rather than attempt to match new bluestone to the existing, we sourced the rare Mintaro Brown Back slate from the Mintaro quarries in South Australia – the same material Paul used in his own bathroom at Toolern Vale. Laid in crazy paving, it sits directly beside the original bluestone, creating a dialogue between old and new while respecting both. Fixtures were selected carefully. A stainless steel handrail that would double as a towel rail and a freestanding tower shower that crossed over it. Meanwhile, the shower screen was an oversized glass panel, suspended from a galvanised steel extrusion – maintaining the rigour, honesty and minimalism akin to Paul’s work. Our intent was to renew the Ensuite in a way that empathised with and paid homage to the original architecture and Paul’s ethos, without falling into imitation. The challenge was to stitch new work into the original fabric while allowing both to remain legible. We removed the glass cladding that had been retrofitted to expose the original concrete wall, and formed a floating concrete wall – poured in situ – to partition the shower from the toilet. This sat upon a concrete that ran perpendicular – a nod to the trabeating beams and walls that formed the original house. This ensured the shower would stay functional as the clients aged in the house. The result is a space that feels of the house yet of its own time: a renovation that respects and extends Paul Couch’s legacy while restoring integrity to one of the few compromised interiors at Lumeah.