According to the architects: “The conceptual drive for the interior of this house is largely in response to a brief which crystallised into a need to be connected with ‘green’ space. Beyond the heritage front the project wanted to not necessarily increase floor area but to increase amenity. To make spaces feel bigger, more functional, to be light filled, and to visually extend and borrow from within and beyond the site.

“The contemporary Melbourne property is not only about a coloured front door but the experience of what’s beyond it. Conceptually beyond this green door, there are no doors; the newer space is about flow and continuity where delineation of space is soft nd less finite than expected from the street.  In a clear formal idea the rear composes three extruded white cubes that look essentially like they have been let go, landing like dice randomly on top of each other next to a Victorian ‘monopoly’ house. The three cubes, as with the existing villa, are composed so as to be immediately deciphered internally or externally and in clear programmatic zones all house different functions. The cubes which are opened at their ends (or sides where required) are utilised as devices to orchestrate views to green elements within the structure and to greenery within or beyond the site.

“The client requested a predominantly white interior with a feature highlight colour. Green became an obvious choice, working in combination with the proximity of the garden. The green spaces within and beyond the site became the focus with the white cubes acting as lens for these events – effectively assisting in bringing the green inside and dissolving barriers of enclosure. In this way interior, exterior, landscape & old and new – through colour – all inform each other with equal importance.

“The contemporary Melbourne property utilises many ESD principles – retention of existing structure, orientation and configuration of new works and so forth.”

The contemporary English cottage is a stylishly presented contemporary property which was built in 2009 and is ‘Eco friendly’ with environmentally sustainable features. The house has been designed to make the most of the exceptional views over the Weald of Kent, with full height windows and doors along the southern elevation. Internally the house has been finished to a high specification and offers light and airy, open plan accommodation arranged over two floors.

The open plan living room comprises a stylish sitting area with contemporary style gas fire, the dining area has a range of fitted wall cupboards, and doors open to the generous rear terrace and views beyond. The kitchen comprises a range of full height cupboards and matching island unit with work surfaces and sink with waste disposal. Appliances include a Miele oven, steam oven, coffee maker and dishwasher.

The master bedroom has a range of wardrobes and fitted dressing table, and doors open out to the terrace. The well appointed en suite comprises bath, walk-in shower and wall mounted basin.

The contemporary English property is approached over a tarmacadam drive which provides parking and leads to the underground parking with electric sliding doors. The garaging provides ample space for cars and leads on to the plant room with the pool
equipment. There is a single detached garage located at the top of the drive.

For more information on Cherry Tree Cottage visit Savills.

According to the architects: “A pouring of lava, on the continental shelf of Africa, in the middle of the Sicilian Channel. Thirty miles from Tunisia. An agricultural complex containing a number of dammusi, the typical construction of the local agricultural population, built with double dry-masonry walls in lavic stone and obsidian, interspaces filled with rubble ‘casciata’: the internal wall supports the vault, the external wall functions as a buttress; a rugged landscape, with severe level variations, each marked by e wall; Mediterranean vegetation (grapevines, olives, holm oaks and prickly pear cacti).

“On the pre-existing dammusi, which were partially ruined, a series of new spaces have been built using the original construction techniques, concatenated around a volume with an apse, with a vaulted roof (height 4.5 m), organised around a sequence of enclosed courtyards that can be used in the summer. The compact character of this allusive village is contrasted by the openness, defined by a simple stucco wall, of the swimming pool, whose border marks the profile of the sea.

“A succession of material identifies the interior: bare stone indicates pre-existing elements. A long pathway in tufa, bordered by a stone wall, leads to a depression of 16 metres below the level of the contemporary Italian house. At the centre of this volcanic depression, terraces have been built to create an open-air theatre.”