Merricks House by Actis Architects: Monumentality in an Australian Village

This page is also available in the following languages:🇷🇺🇺🇦🇫🇷🇩🇪🇪🇸🇵🇱🇨🇳

Modern house with large glass windows, neat metal design and a towering structure located on green terrain showcasing innovative architecture and stylish residential design.

In Melbourne, Australia, the Merricks House by Actis Architects stands out as a monumental residential building of form and materials. Completed in 2023, this 5005 square foot home embraces its rural setting without compromise, combining openness to the landscape with a powerful architectural language based on concrete, steel and natural finishes.

From the Concept of a Subterranean Building to a Monumental Presence

The initial plan envisioned constructing a building partially buried into the slope. However, as the design evolved, a new strategy emerged: elevate rather than conceal the house. Located above the flood zone with a three-meter elevation difference to the north, the Merricks House proudly stands in its flat rural setting and draws attention with its bold geometry.

Spatial Planning and Lighting

The site orientation created a challenge: expansive panoramas extended to the south through local vegetation, while the north offered better access to sunlight. The solution was to open the house towards southern views, as well as integrate skylights and internal courtyards that fill interiors with warm northern light.

The resulting layout follows a linear configuration, excluding inefficient spaces. The structural grid organizes the interior, giving it clarity and rhythm while contrasting with wild nature outside.

Form and Material

The dwelling consists of two gabled roofs above solid stone blocks. This interplay between geometric strength and structural expression creates a sense of permanence.

Stone and concrete define the bold external volumes.
Steel structure enhances the monumentality of the building.
Wooden elements enrich the interior, adding warmth to balance with the roughness of stone and concrete.
Extensive glazing opens the building to its surroundings, contrasting with the strength of stone walls.

Inside, raw materials—stone, wood, concrete and steel—replace drywall and painted surfaces with natural authenticity, realizing the client's vision of a tactile and durable home.

Architecture of Contrasts

Along the long facade side, a colonnade of slender columns frames large windows, blurring the boundary between structure and landscape. These contrasts—mass of stone versus transparency, raw strength versus elegant detailing—form the architectural narrative of tension and balance.

A House Rooted in Landscape

The Merricks House is more than a private residence; it's an architectural statement about monumentality in the countryside. By combining raw materials, functional clarity and expressive form, Actis Architects create a home that deeply interacts with the site and stands as an eternal object in the landscape.

Photos © Timothy Kay
Merricks House by Actis Architects: Monumentality in an Australian Village