Nulla Vale
Nulla Vale is a small dwelling and shed located on a large former grazing site. The structure anticipates a more permanent home to be built at some stage in the future. Early settler homes and rural shed types are referenced in the design.
The Shed and House are identical in their overall dimensions and from a distance, their silhouette is the familiar gable ended form commonly associated with farming sheds. Up close, however, the two structures are clearly defined as shed and house through the material, void, and volume. The shed was custom designed by us directly with a shed fabrication company using their systems to create a shed that is part storage part entryways. Clad entirely in heritage grade corrugated galvanized iron with a roof oriented and pitched to maximize solar exposure through the seasons.
The House is constructed from salvaged bricks and corrugated iron in addition to rough sawn timber and new galvanized roofing on pre-engineered timber trusses that are left exposed both inside and out. Materials were selected to meet the clients’ brief that house fit within the cognitive idea of an ‘old shed’. Internally the finishes are the same as outside, no plasterboard and no paint. LED lighting strips concealed on top of the rafters reflect light off the foil-backed insulation. The house provides the means to eat, sleep and wash in a space that is part of the experience of being on the site and not removed from it.
Window placement, but higher, frames the view