Private
Split House
Split House is in Mount Martha on Victoria’s popular Mornington Peninsula.
Around its neighbourhood are new houses for downsizers. Despite the wild coastal woodland backdrop, most are designed in a suburban style with paved driveways and letterboxes. All are vying for views of Port Phillip Bay.
Split House offers privacy for our clients, yet engages with its coastal environment. It got its name because it has two separate (but relatively simple) parts. They’re linked by a staircase that’s also a seating area for people to sit around, listen to music, or be in the sun.
The two parts occupy different levels of the sloping site, fitting into its natural contours. They separate the upper main living/master-bedroom zone from the rumpus room and guest bedrooms below.
From the beginning, BKK and our clients considered the landscape, including the spaces in between the two parts of the house, to be as important as the house itself. We used screens and finely detailed pergolas to create sheltered places that are plentiful and distinct.
We placed windows and doors carefully to offer direct and indirect connections to the landscape.
Smaller elements, such as integrated seating, stairs and study nooks, provide quiet spaces, as opposed to the larger areas for family and friends to come together.