Linea House / Wolveridge Architects

Architects: Wolveridge Architects
Area: 800 m²
Year: 2021
Photographs: Derek Swalwell
Manufacturers: Artedomus, CDK stone, Classic Ceramics, Concrete Resurfacing Systems, Eco Timber, New Age Veneers
Architecture: Will Smart, Camilla McBeath
Landscape Design: Jack Merlo
City: Sandringham
Country: Australia

Blade House residential project, designed by unlisted architects in an undisclosed location, has redefined spatial openness and privacy within a landscaped setting by embedding the home deeply in the garden and removing the conventional boundary fence. The design prioritizes flexibility for an evolving household through a wing-based floor plan, while maintaining a strong dialogue with the street and the surrounding landscape. Full-height vertical blades and cedar screens compose the façade, offering filtered light and privacy, and engage with Jack Merlo’s garden design to enhance biophilic connection. Interior zones, including the kitchen, lounge, and dining areas, open entirely to the garden through 3.5-meter-high sliding doors, making the landscape an active part of daily life. The house integrates travertine, Australian hardwood, and Venetian plaster to reinforce a cohesive, warm interior and exterior palette. A series of outdoor leisure zones—pool, spa, dining, firepit—further anchor the home’s resort-like, multi-generational character.

Blade House is embedded within its landscaped garden, with each interior space visually linked to the outdoors. The clients requested a home adaptable to the evolving nature of their adult family and guests. A plan organized around separate wings addresses this need. A central design principle was to avoid turning the house away from the street while still ensuring privacy and security for the family. Eliminating the traditional boundary fence extends the property outward, welcoming passers-by and softening the threshold between public and private zones.

The façade features a composition of full-height blades and cedar screens, which allow natural light to enter while maintaining privacy. These elements interact with Jack Merlo’s landscape design, reinforcing the project’s commitment to biophilic principles in support of health and well-being. Internally, the primary ensuite includes a large picture window connecting to the garden, the study faces a secluded courtyard, and 3.5-meter sliding doors open the north-facing kitchen, living, and dining areas to the outdoors. These spatial relationships establish varied and continuous connections to nature, creating moments of discovery throughout the home. Even transitional areas maintain a visual link to the garden, while shared spaces maintain direct physical access, positioning them as the home’s primary gathering zone.

A restrained material palette complements the architecture. Internally, Australian hardwood timber, travertine, and Venetian plaster dominate, while travertine and cedar continue externally to ensure material coherence. The garden evokes a resort-like atmosphere with designated recreation areas for entertaining, including an outdoor dining and living space, pool and spa, a casual seating zone, firepit, and trampoline. Each element contributes to the overall spatial logic and adaptability of the home.