Japan in frame of modern masterpiece

Built on 10 blocks of land over a 10-year period, this award-winning Bedfordale home has been influenced by Japanese design as well as the homeowners' passion for sustainability.

With its uncluttered interiors and minimal furnishings, the home is true to the pared-back Japanese aesthetic.

"The bones of the building are the decoration, rather than the accessories," architect Suzanne Hunt said.

Ms Hunt's work was earlier this year awarded two Australian Institute of Architects WA Architecture Awards for her work on the striking home, which means the project will now progress to the institute's national awards next month.

The rammed-earth home is made up of a series of pavilions, centred around a main pavilion which includes the kitchen, living areas and a main suite and guest bedroom.

The additional buildings house another guestroom and kitchen, gym, a 20m indoor swimming pool, a garage and a farm shed. Combined, the pavilions cover just under 1000sqm and took three years to build.

Ms Hunt said the excavation of the site was a time-consuming exercise thanks to the huge boulders that were discovered when they started to dig.

"They were the size of a small car but in the process of crushing them we decided to use them in the rammed-earth mix used for the exterior," she said.

Stepping into the home's entrance you can see all the materials that have been used - stained walnut veneer cabinets, teak ceilings, travertine flooring and Bunbury basalt on the walls.

As well as carpet, curtains and the colour white, Ms Hunt said the owners wanted to avoid the use of traditional walls.

Because there are no walls in the main pavilion, the ceilings change throughout to define the different spaces, through use of pattern.

Bespoke cabinetry also helps to differentiate the living zones.

A shoji screen, which Ms Hunt co-designed with the owners, acts as an end to the hallway that leads to the main suite. "When you slide it open it, it's positioned on the wall like a piece of art," Ms Hunt said.

All the home's internal doors are based on the shoji-screen design - they're on wheels and disappear into the walls when open.

Full blocks of basalt make up the internal walls. "We had one stonemason, a local man, who did all the work with his sons over a year," Ms Hunt said.

Canadian slate and Victorian ash timber have also been used throughout, while the muted colour palette includes earth-toned travertine and black stone benchtops.

"The house has been designed in a passive-solar orientation so we've captured the south-westerly breezes through louvre and high-level remote- controlled windows," Ms Hunt said.

"The house also gets cool easterly breezes in the morning so in the summer the owners can open the windows, capture the cold air, then close them up."

Underfloor reverse-cycle air- conditioning has also been installed.

A conservatory, adjacent to the kitchen, features wide glass bi-fold doors and a remote-controlled retractable shade awning.

As well as the architecture, the home's other key decorative element is what lies outside on the 20ha property.

The landscape, which the owners have worked so hard on, can be enjoyed from almost wherever you are in the house, according to Ms Hunt. "The view and how to best enjoy it from inside the home were key," she said.

"Wherever you are, you're capturing views of water and landscaping."

Throughout the home there are several places to sit and enjoy the view of the exteriors and the surrounding koi-filled pond.

Strategically placed frameless transom windows capture the view and bring it inside.

"Having a frame would remind you there's a window there, that there's an outside and an inside, and we really wanted to meld the two," Ms Hunt said.

For the environmentally minded owners, sustainability was their ultimate goal.

"It was just a few farm sheds here, lots of sand and some dead orchards," Ms Hunt said.

"The creek bed was completely choked and they've cleaned it up, got rid of invasive species and now it's flowing again."

There is no water, sewerage or main power grid connection so the owners have added dams, which provide 270,000 litres of water each year, a waste treatment centre and a 20kW solar-power system to the property.

"For the owners, it was important for their home to be earthy and robust, and to allow them to enjoy their landscape in a tranquil, peaceful way," Ms Hunt said.

"It's their forever home and for us, it's been a dream build."