A home that reveals the landscape one step at a time
For a young family relocating within Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, the attraction of this five-acre property at Shoreham was immediate. Sitting high above Bass Strait with uninterrupted views towards Phillip Island, it offered the expansive coastal outlook they had been searching for. Yet designing a home for the site required responding to an unusual planning constraint before anything else.
"The road is about 300 metres back from the site itself," explains Roger Borland of Borland Architecture. "From the road you can see right over the bay, and the building had to be a low-lying structure so that you could continue to see the ocean over the top of it."
Rather than competing with the landscape, the house was conceived as a long, linear form that settles across it. Stretching with the contours rather than cutting into them, the building sits lightly on the land while ensuring every major living space enjoys the extraordinary outlook.
"The building aligns with the landscape without having to cut into it," Borland says. "It's very much sitting on top of the landscape instead of being embedded into it."
For the clients, the brief extended beyond capturing views. With two young children and one parent regularly working from home, they wanted a house that could evolve alongside family life, allowing different parts of the home to operate independently as the children grew older.
That thinking informed a series of interconnected pavilions, each carefully zoned around different aspects of daily life while maintaining a constant visual relationship with the surrounding landscape.
Yet perhaps the home's defining move is not its form but the way it withholds the view.
From the road, the ocean stretches uninterrupted beyond the site. Descending the long driveway, visitors first encounter a restored antique windmill, followed by an agricultural barn that speaks to the property's agricultural past. Only then does the house emerge.
Rather than immediately framing the ocean, the building presents itself as a solid fortress. A long rendered flank wall guides visitors towards a handcrafted timber front door, deliberately concealing what lies beyond.
"I always liked the idea of concealment and reveal," says Borland. "You have to be invited through the building before you get a grasp of what's beyond."
The choreography continues inside. Instead of immediately revealing the view, the entry turns into a deliberately enclosed gallery corridor with no windows, allowing artwork to become the focus. Only at the end of the passage does the house suddenly open to the landscape, where the ocean becomes a living artwork framed by full-height glazing.
"It's very much about experiencing the artwork in that space," Borland explains. "Then when you turn the corner, the artwork becomes the landscape."
The planning continues this careful sequencing. One pavilion houses the parents' suite alongside a study positioned near the entrance, allowing work visitors to arrive without entering the family areas. At the centre of the home sits a dramatic double-height library, the only space where the ceiling rises significantly above the rest of the house. Wrapped in glazing and lined with books, it provides a quieter retreat distinct from the main living areas.
Beyond, the living pavilion opens completely towards the ocean while maintaining a second relationship with the site. On one side, a linear deck embraces the coastal panorama. On the other, a sheltered alfresco courtyard and pool provide protection from the strong coastal winds, allowing outdoor living regardless of the weather.
"The outdoor spaces were really important," Borland says. "It gives you the opportunity to experience the landscape in different ways depending on the conditions."
The children's wing occupies the final pavilion, complete with its own living area and separate entrance, allowing increasing independence as the family grows while maintaining a strong connection to the rest of the home.
Materially, the architecture reflects the dual nature of the site. Externally, a restrained palette of rendered concrete, glazing and metal cladding creates a robust shell capable of withstanding the harsh coastal environment with minimal maintenance.
Inside, however, the atmosphere softens considerably. Timber finishes, Venetian plaster, limewashed surfaces and tactile natural materials replace the harder exterior, creating warmth and intimacy throughout the living spaces.
"The exterior is almost brutalist in its refinement," Borland says. "The inside, on the other hand, is much softer. It's a lot more textural and a lot cosier."
The greatest design challenge came from balancing the desire for uninterrupted glazing with the home's environmental performance. Extensive insulation, careful orientation and sheltered outdoor rooms all work together to temper the exposed coastal conditions while preserving the extraordinary outlook that drew the family to the site in the first place.
For Borland, however, the project's success is measured by the journey.
"I enjoy the experience of going through the home," he reflects. "That journey was very clear, and it really added to the experience of the house."
Rather than placing the landscape on permanent display, the architecture asks its occupants to discover it gradually. In doing so, every space is experienced as a landscape of its own.
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Words: Joanna Seton
Photography: Fraser Marsden
