Marie Short House, Glenn MurcuttKempsey, New South Wales, Australia 1974-75Glenn Murcutt designed this house for the mother of a previous client. Heavy rains, high humidity and huge variations in temperature meant that the brief was to create a “house that is as cool in summer as standing under the mulberry tree, and as warm in winter”. Murcutt accommodated the wooden off-cuts that the client had been collecting into the design of the house and ensured that the house could be dismantled and reconstructed in a different location, a possibility at the time. Murcutt intended the building to be dynamic and operated like a yacht, he says “The roof overhang, blinds, insect screens and louvered windows are like layers of clothes that you can put on or remove: the blinds can be fully retracted; the louvered adjustable windows tilt and change the light levels and control ventilation”.

The house is orientated to facilitate the geometry of the winds and Murcutt took this opportunity to experiment with positive and negative airflow over forms. The wings of this building are separated into living and sleeping areas, connected with two sets of pivoting doors. The open plan living space is located on the warmer side of the house and the south side is shifted to shelter the North veranda, which is necessary in the summer months. Murcutt strived to “make a whole building where it feels like one is living on the edge and can smell the rain and sense changes in the air and light”. By working with the climate, Murcutt managed to create an interior that reinforces and also dissolves the differences between the environments within and around the house.    

Fromonot, F. (2003) Glenn Murcutt: buildings and projects 1962-2003, London: Thames & Hudson
Beck, H. and Cooper, J (2002) Glenn Murcutt: a singular architectural practice, Victoria: The Images Publishing Group Pty Ltd
Fromonot, F. (1995) Glenn Murcutt: works and projects, London: Thames & Hudson
Farrelly, E. M. (1993) Three Houses: Glenn Murcutt, New York: Phaidon Press Limited