Located an hour and a half north-west of Melbourne’s CBD, Hepburn Springs House is a weekend retreat for a city-based couple and their young child. Balancing contemporary functionality and semi-rural serenity, the project is an exercise in materiality: with shapes, finishes and Alspec aluminium systems working to create a serene home that melts into its landscape.

Designed by architectural firm Telha Clarke, Hepburn Springs House is comprised of two perpendicular wings that seem to exist as one with nature. The main house, with soaring gables wrapped in slate shingles, uses local architectural vernacular to anchor itself into its place. The traditional shape of the building is updated with Alspec’s Hastings Front Glazed Framing, which creates a wall of seamless glazing that mirrors the surrounding bushland and helps the home to disappear into its surrounds. The guest-house – which juts out from the larger space – is finished in a plain white render, with flat roofing and uninterrupted lines creating a canvas for the tree’s shadows to dance across its façade.

Step inside and the interior of the home echoes the juxtaposition of its exteriors, with contrasting white and black colour blocks providing visual continuity to the minimalist fit out. Alspec framing systems and a Swan Evo Commercial Shopfront double door allow for multiple eaves to punctuate the open-plan space, creating interior zones and framing the home’s views into the bushland beyond.

More than just an aesthetically driven project, Hepburn Springs House also boasts serious sustainability credentials. Responding to the dramatic temperature variables of rural Victoria, Alspec’s ecoFRAMEplus Centre Pocket Double Glazed Framing ensures the space maintains its energy efficiency, allowing the home to respond to its climate without affecting its architectural narrative.

The House’s nomination for the AIA Australian Institute of Architects 2020 Victorian Architecture Awards for Residential Houses (New), reaffirms the credibility of this project’s practicality and aesthetics. Contemporary systems such as Alspec’s Hastings Front Glazed Framing and ecoFRAMEplus Centre Pocket Double Glazed Framing are contributing factors to its execution, providing a functional and beautiful space to escape the chaos of city life.

Project Name: Hepburn Springs Retreat
Project Address: 6 Fifth Ave, Hepburn Springs, VIC
Photographer: Lynton Crabb
Architect: Telha Clarke
Builder: Hardwick Build Co
Fabricator: All Seasons Windows
Applied Finish: Interpon Night Sky Matt GN231A
Hardware: Optimum Locks

Alspec Products Used:
Hastings 150mm Front Glazed Framing
Hunter Evo 150mm Single Flush Glazed Framing
ecoFRAMEplus 101.6mm Centre Pocket Double Glazed Framing