Goldfields Dwelling
Chewton, Victoria
A compact weekender of 100 square metres in Victoria's goldfields region, designed by DesignOffice co-founder Mark Simpson for himself and his partner. The whole building, walls and roof alike, is clad in warm grey asphalt shingles, laid so they read like brickwork from a distance, a response to the region's corrugated metal roofs. The windows line up so you can see straight through the house from the approach, which is the view in this picture.
The house was planned around its dining table: more than 70 percent of the floor area is one high-ceilinged room that seats eight for dinner and sleeps them afterwards, helped by a sunken conversation pit and a loft. A tiled light well rises five metres at the apex, drawing daylight in and venting hot air through the roof. The landscape came later as a planned second phase, designed by Sam Cox Landscape with Tim Pilgrim and built around the site's existing rock and indigenous planting.
DesignOffice
A Melbourne architecture and design practice established in 2008, led by Mark Simpson and Damien Mulvihill from a studio in Collingwood. The work runs across residential, hospitality, retail and institutional projects, integrating architecture and interiors.
Architecture DesignOffice (@_designoffice), Mark Simpson. Photography @piercarthew. Landscape design @samcoxlandscape and @t.p_gardens. Seen via @thelocalproject.
The picture comes from this post on Instagram.
Researched August 2026. I credit each piece as carefully as I can; if you know more about this one, message me on Instagram.