With this townhouse in Melbourne, Australia, Robert Mills Architects displays modernist tendencies that follow a linear arrangement.

Text by Rossara Jamil
Photography by Shannon McGrath

Just five kilometres south-east of Melbourne, Australia, Toorak is a residential area that has been long-established. Located within the area is Toorak Village, what some consider as the Rodeo Drive of Australia. Commissioned to design a two-storey townhouse located a few streets from Toorak Village, Robert Mills Architects turns the spotlight to on modernism. With careful, considered steps, architect Robert Mills designed this home as a study of surprise. The construct has been conceptualised to portray the simplified angles of modernist ideals whose very simplicity belies the lusciously rich experience it delivers.

Robust concrete blocks that emphasise discipline of form depict the façade. A concrete frame outlines the timber entrance of the garage, creating a welcomed juxtaposition of materials. While the front façade is a fortress of privacy for those within, the back reveals quite a different quality.
In the latter, a hollowed block lightly filled with zinc screens sits atop a concrete plinth that, in turn, magically floats above walls of feather-light glass. And perhaps, more than the front façade, this rear face of the house reveals the true character of the dwelling, where an openness of space is quietly balanced by the equal need for privacy.

Admittedly, the long and narrow proportions of the site posed a challenge to the architect. Mills had the gargantuan task of maximising the available space, while making sure a sense of spaciousness was achieved, especially on the ground floor. And so he devised a linear approach that capitalised on the site’s length, allowing him to create a series of experiences through the house.

Enter past the stoic façade of the house and a completely unexpected scene rises to greet you.
The ground floor is best defined as a liberating outburst of space that completely contradicts the narrow proportions of the site. Starting with the sitting room, Mills has orchestrated one space to precede another, each one drawing the eye out towards the end of the house. Articulated to imply only subtle segmentations, the ground floor has been designed as one open space suited for the hosting of visitors, in large or small scales.

Drenched in white, the walls provide a clean canvas for the modern approach of the interior concept. With its interior designed by Hassell designers, Scott Walker and Robert Backhouse, the sitting room is a configuration of textures as observed in the hide carpet, the placid lounge chair and the sleek, glass coffee table. Framing the set up is the glossy surface of wall-mounted cabinetry. A low timber display shelf forms the base for clean ornamentation and to add a spark to the space, the fiery fluidity of an art piece adorns the wall.

Punctuating length of the house is a rendered steel sculptural staircase. Clearly an indication of Bauhaus tradition, the spiral staircase stands ground between the formal sitting area and the informal kitchen and living room in a most extravagant gesture. More than just a visual breather, its organic form that dramatically yet quietly spirals upwards serves as the focal point of this level, no matter the vantage point.

Beyond the spiral staircase, an open kitchen interacts freely with the living area. Like many of Mills’ other projects, harnessing light effectively is paramount and this house is no exception. Full-length, frameless glass windows form a clear membrane along two sides of this living space, allowing not just natural light, but a sense of the outdoors, to douse the space.

The living room and terrace just beyond the glass doors converse in an open dialogue, where the line between interior and exterior is deliciously blurred. To blunt the double-edged sword of having sunlight through full-length glass windows, Mills conceptualised a generous eave that stretches out over a hefty portion of the outdoor terrace. And to the side, rather than rudely butting the room up to the boundary wall, a 13.5-metre long pool runs with quiet aplomb along its length, providing a cool respite from the solidity of the materials used thus far.

Access to the upper floor is had through the spiral staircase that is generously lit from above during that day by an elliptical skylight. And when the sun sets, the night sky is welcomed in with open arms. Here, the cocooning form of the stairway, coupled with this private view of the sky seems to herald moments of privacy to come, and rightly so.

The upper floor has been given respite from the afternoon glare with the use of zinc awning blades. To combat the issue of privacy, a tall concrete wall has been constructed along the narrow pool, fiercely protecting the client’s need for solitary moments. Complementing these are deliberately planted trees that over time will envelop the space with lush foliage, ultimately softening the concrete, zinc and timber combination.

Despite its apparent simplicity, the complex details characteristic of Mills’ works are not lost. The construct demands a second look, urging those who live here and those who visit, to look past the sweeping aesthetics into the minute articulations that make all the difference.