Architecture, Copperline, Spaces

THE PUMP HOUSE

2nd April 2014

You know when you spot something that’s just so good that you have to share it? Well, this lakeside timber cabin in rural Victoria, Australia, offered one of those moments when I spotted it on Dezeen. I love compact architecture, and I’m always drawn to natural materials. And, I guess, I dream about one day having a retreat, a place to escape to. And this cabin answers all of that – albeit on the other side of the globe.

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Designed by Branch Studio Architects, the original brief was for a storage space for a water pump and the other equipment necessary for the owners to maintain their farmland property, and for a place to shelter and rest. As architect Nicholas Russo says in the Dezeen feature: “Although the project eventually developed into something slightly more extravagant, the modesty of the original ambition is still evident in the ‘no-frills’ detailing and rugged materiality of the finished building.”

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The open plan living room and kitchen includes a woodburning stove, and a central bathroom divides this area from the bedroom and studio to the rear. One feature of this building that I particularly like is the interior cladding, as the ceilings and walls are lined in unfinished low-grade plywood and rough-sawn timber boards. There’s something honest about this palette; it’s raw and textural and feels connected to the location. The cabin also features solar panels and tanks for collecting and recycling rainwater, making this building entirely ‘off-grid’.

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There’s one quote from Russo in the Dezeen feature that sums up this project beautifully: ‘The Pump House is a celebration of the ordinary.’ Russo is referring to the cabin’s simplicity, materials and sense of craftsmanship, but as these photos show, the end result doesn’t look ordinary at all.

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See the Dezeen post for more information and photos.