Welcome to our gallery featuring the Southern Outlet House by Philip M Dingemanse Architecture + Design.

Standing on a slope adjacent to a major road, this home is a study of the contribution a private residence may make to the public domain.

At the core of its design is the requirement of a climatically responsive and welcoming family home.

This unique home design stands out at first sight, with its appearance controlled by a technique borrowed from early 20th century naval camouflage. This dazzling technique is employed to manipulate the public face of the building, adjusting its scale, and suggesting depth to the otherwise flat surface.

Instead of a simple static object to be passed by, the building visually responds to vehicles and people passing at speed, offering a shifting and visually magnetic appearance to any observers.

The steeply angled site is mediated by a structure that stretches across the slope, with its continuous roof line eventually growing 2 stories high. The volumes step down the slope below the roof line.

The shallow plan depth contributes to a reduction in scale of the elevation changes, while the dark facade color lessens the visual impact of the building toward neighboring homes.

Each area of the living space has a different connection and experience of the landscape, providing its own chapter in the broader context of the home. The living room sports a high ceiling while the dining wall opening allows for expansive views of the city and mountains beyond. The lounge incorporates views of both the arterial road and the horizon past it.

The home makes maximum use of its relatively cozy floor plan, laying out an efficient and open space to live in. There’s a studio area overlooking the nearby living spaces in the tallest volume, providing a layered look.

The children’s area has been designed to be separated into two spaces as needs change with age, including discrete access to the garden.

The entire building structure is crafted from plantation timber while the interior is lined with Forest Stewardship Council certified plywood, providing a naturally warm quality. Insulation comes courtesy of mineral wool augmented with a high performance rigid phenolic board.

The distinctive facade incorporates a sustainable compressed wood fiber cladding, while photovoltaic cells and evacuated tube hot water heating are woven inside. Coupled with the landscape orientation and double glazed windows, it’s an energy efficient, impressively progressive home.

Photography: Jonathan Wherret

Location: Launceston, Tasmania, Australia

As seen from the entry approach, the home is deceptively simple and subtle, with only a shifting facade texture spicing up an otherwise monolithic slab. The landscape is carefully crafted around this design.

As seen from the nearby main road, it’s a flash of shifting color to passersby. The flat facade is brought to life by contrasting and sharply angled color patches.

Small but important details abound on the exterior, including these tiny patches of bright red in increasingly lengthy segments, running directly below the roofline.

The intricately patterned colors on the side of the home resolutely break up the monotony with bursts of brightness and an almost optical-illusion effect, courtesy of the sharply angled segments.

Here’s the open exterior volume of the home, a comfortable outdoor space that’s protected from the elements and connected directly to the home.

Bridging the gap between the garage and the home proper, this space provides a simple dining area, a bar, and a massive hammock suspended from the ceiling beams.

Moving inside, we see the expansive kitchen awash in stainless steel and natural wood. With the glass doors fully retracted, it’s seamlessly connected to the outdoors.

The interior spreads out in a massive open plan design, connecting living, dining, and kitchen spaces within the same large room. With those retractible doors open, this space blurs into the outdoors as well.

Surrounded by the rich wood paneling seen throughout the interior, this comfortable relaxing space stands out immediately with a burst of angular blue. The space is both gorgeous and useful, with a slim shelf built into the wall above the window.

Beyond the cozy family room space in blue, we see red paneling and lighting beckoning toward the more private areas of the home.

The staircase flaunts a bit of industrial toughness as well as a burst of candy red coloring, making for a unique focal point within the home. To the left we can see the bedroom and related spaces.

The bedroom, on the upper level, features a unique open en suite design, with a massive walk in closet area seen in the background. The sleeping area itself is spartan, surrounded by the rich tones of natural wood.

The bathroom is all sleek black tiling, centered on a massive angular soaking tub. The huge picture window to the right provides expansive views for anyone relaxing in the tub.

Moving back outside at night, we can see clearly into the home and across the large open plan space at its center. Beyond the kitchen, we see the family room to the left, in blue, and the stairway at center, highlighted in red.

Seen from above, this uniquely useful open space is clearly sheltered by a transparent roof, allowing for ample sunlight at day. During the night, it’s highlighted by intricately positioned recessed lighting.

Here we see how, at night, strategically embedded lighting along the structure of the home highlights the various colorful patches and angular shapes.