Located on a steeply sloping suburban lot in Mount Martha, about an hour south of Melbourne, Mount Martha House is set within a complex landscape defined by a gradient that descends from the street toward a natural reserve and a watercourse at the rear of the site. The project, designed by Ben Lance, approaches topography as a generative matrix for the architecture, transforming regulatory constraints, orientation, and family life into an articulated spatial system.
The house develops as a long, linear volume oriented north–south, set back from the western boundary to ensure uninterrupted west-facing views for all rooms, toward the bay. This strategy also allows for the creation of a continuous strip of garden along the entire length of the site, responding to the clients’ request for an outdoor space dedicated to their children.
The dwelling is organized across nine levels, with a clear functional hierarchy: living spaces occupy the highest level to the north, where the best views over the bay and the distant city can be enjoyed, while the children’s areas are located on the lower southern levels, in direct relationship with the garden and the reserve, ensuring greater privacy.
Local planning regulations did not allow excessively long and continuous façades. The project addresses this limitation through a composition of slightly rotated and staggered volumes that step down the slope like a sequence of articulated “boxes.” This strategy visually fragments the building, improves the orientation of views toward the bay, and allows the house to bypass laterally the bulk of the adjacent dwelling on the western side.
Internally, the staggered levels and circulation paths generate a sequence of partially screened spaces, giving each portion of the house its own identity and degree of privacy. The circulation route along the eastern side functions as a longitudinal gallery for the owners’ art collection, transforming movement through the house into a spatial experience.
Two stair systems structure daily life: a main stair connects the entrance to the upper living spaces, while a secondary, more private stair located at the center of the house directly links the parents’ area with the children’s zone and leads back to the shared spaces via an alternative route.
The western orientation and bay views require a precise environmental response. On the west façade, low solar-gain glazing, aluminum sunshades, and metallized fabric roller blinds are used to reflect heat. Summer cooling is supported by cross-ventilation and a stack effect, taking advantage of large openings at the upper level.
The building is anchored to the ground by a concrete block plinth, necessary both to address the steep slope and to comply with bushfire regulations. The external cladding in natural hardwood, left to weather and grey over time, echoes the color of the surrounding tree trunks and reinforces the connection with the landscape. Inside, white vertical surfaces provide a neutral backdrop for the artworks, while horizontal timber planes introduce material warmth and reduce glare.
For more information, visit www.benlance.com.au
CREDITS
Project: Mount Martha House
Studio: Ben Lance
Location: Mount Martha, Victoria, Australia
Year: 2023–2025
