ABSTRACT
154The Clemson House is located in the Melbourne’s inner suburb of Kew, seven kilometres east from the city. The site is considerably steep and densely planted. The house consists of three volumes that descend an existing gully, retreating from both the neighbouring properties and the external streetscape. Painted in a dark eucalyptus green, it is barely visible from the street. The three connected rectilinear boxes sit beneath a separate continuous inverted gable roof that acts as a giant gutter draining the water to the watercourse downhill. The timber structure is exposed, containing the volumes and supporting the roof that extends beyond their perimeter over the natural ground plane to both ‘collect’ the volumes and define outdoor open spaces: a carport on the east side, a balcony on the west side and linear veranda-type spaces along the sides.
