New Rammed Earth Home in Fitzroy Falls

This home is a wonderful combination of innovative building materials and a joyful mesh of the two cultures of the owners; Japanese and Australian. Located on an organic produce farm, the house sits on the east-facing side of a gentle hill, allowing for a small apartment for overseas family and friends to be tucked in underneath. The elevation of the living areas provides long and relaxing views across the farm. The house was built with rammed earth, a process where 600mm high formwork is set, a mix of soil, water and a small amount of cement for setting is compacted into the form, and once set, the form is raised to the next level and the process repeated. The result is a wall that has the appearance of masonry, but is very smooth and almost translucent with the aggregate and natural colours of the soil shining through. Use of timber (some milled from the property itself!), glass and stone resulted in a beautiful natural home. Special features such as the timber bathtub, a stunning parquetry floor detail at the entrance and the Aga stove with handmade colourful wall tiles behind make for a truly special home.