Morris Partnership is a relatively small architectural firm that focuses their designs on a grander scale of morals. Their firm consists of Michael Morris, Director/Architect, Christine Berry, Planner, David Morris, Architect, Aaron Wooster, Interior Architect, and Tom Caddaye, Industrial Designer.
[/caption]This team of professionals dig deep to meet their client expectations but go above to ensure that the environment is always an element to be recognized and expressed through their innovative designs.A house built by Morris Partnership in rural Australia is a natural retreat with minimal impact on the environment and wildlife surrounding it. The house is known as the Hinterland House, for the region it was designed to be a part of.
Many homes today are becoming more camouflaged with their surroundings but not often is local wildlife addressed. Morris Partnership made sure with the Hinterland House that it was a crucial design element and implemented no fences, screens or garden areas to insure as little disturbance as possible to surrounding inhabitants. The local animal and plant life can continue to roam as freely as before the structure was built.
Exterior ElevationThe house, itself, is composed of separate buildings for living, working and sleeping activities. It is made of materials such as recycled timber, concrete, corten steel and zincalume. Corten steel is steel that has been manufactured to eliminate the need to paint and zincalume is galvanized steel that outlasts traditional galvanized steel by 4 times its lifespan. Therefore, both products when used in collaboration with recycled timber and concrete produce a structure that has a long-term guarantee.
The house’s main structural element is a rammed earth wall which is firmly anchored to the earth. This allows the other building elements to ‘float’ more loosely above the ground, which allows for a smaller environmental footprint.
The Hinterland House does focus on its impacts by these elements:
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- The building’s mass
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- Use of double glazing
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- Shading and cross ventilation
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- Solar power operating systems
The house was built with nature in mind and offers a view of modernistic concepts, the local Hinterland Dam. Contemporist wrote about the building’s design and stated,
“It does not dominate the landscape but instead encourages a variety of visual and sensual experiences. It encourages a connection with the earth.”
The style of the Hinterland House is not entirely unique, but the concept that Morris Partnership incorporated with their awareness of the house’s environmental AND wildlife impact is incredibly cutting-edge design-work. People have always liked to see animals roaming free in their backyards, yet this house will allow them to roam, almost, through the entire living and surrounding areas. This house just pushes the definition of boundaries and being environmentally friendly to a newer, higher standard.
Resources: Trendhunter, Morris Partnership, Contemporist, and Lost at E Minor
