Jinjella House
Traditional Custodians: Wadawurrung people of the Kulin Nation
Location: Geelong, Victoria
Floor Area/Land Area: 262 sqm/1172 sqm
The site sits in an elevated part of Geelong boasting views across the Barwon River, Greater Geelong and Port Phillip Bay. Given the expansion into residential development post war, Mid-century Modernism is certainly the prominent style of the original housing stock which remains today. The design intended to lean on Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian philosophy and prioritise privacy to the street, and bringing nature into the house by opening up at the rear - which also captured the views, breeze and north light. .
With solid tectonics at play facing the street, its composition doesn’t reveal a lot about what goes on behind - another hallmark of Wright’s Usonian homes. However, as you start to descend down towards the front door, you get a glimpse of the experience to come through the clerestory windows. Then once inside the dwelling it begins to open up towards the view. A central skylight floods the lower floor with light which spills down the staircase, and the rammed earth spine delineates between the master suite and the open living spaces. It also helps negotiate the two axis of the site - which is edge shaped.
Use of natural materials grounds the home on the sloping site, with the benefit of mature/established trees at the rear. Clay bricks, rammed earth, and spotted gum timber and stone really give this a natural feel. The rammed earth spine ‘staples’ the land and helps retain the slope, akin to the monolithic works by Michael Heizer, and provides a structural reference point which guides the eye to the view.
Photography:
Derek Swalwell
