Moonlight Head

View along the wall of a house

2010-05-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

Murcutt Moonlight Head House For Sale. Great Ocean Road Victoria

2010-04-29T02:59:00.000-07:00

These Murcutt designed houses are offered for sale, currently one is available, one has been sold.
Each house is 250m2 of accommodation comprising of a living and 4 bedroom accommodation wing.
E-mail; house@moonlighthead.com for details

Buildings in the Landscape begin to mature

2010-04-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

Been a long time

2010-04-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

Well where are we now. Three Houses built and a focus on raising the senior debt for the hotel.

I knew I needed to update the blog. At this stage there are 3 houses finished. The recognition as a place to stay has been incredible. It is a joy to look after the diversity of guests who come to stay at Moonlight with an increasing frequency. The recognition continues to flow from around the world.

Moonlight Head Private Lodge is thrilled to have been selected as:

An experience featured in the recently published book “1001 escapes to make before you die” 2009

The only Australian accommodation in the British edition of Harpers Bazaar list of top hotels in the World for 2009

One of Le Voyage Officiel’s 110 top hotels in the world 2008/09(France)

One of Tatler magazines top 101 hotels in the world 2008;

One of Home magazines ten hottest new hotels & resorts 2008.(Hong Kong)

One of Marie Claire’s 10 most romantic getaways in the world 2008(UK edition)

One of Elite Traveler's, Pure Decadence, 101 Best Suites of the Year 2007.

And some more images

2007-10-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

Images

2007-10-27T16:59:00.000-07:00

And soon there were three

2007-08-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

So the second house is a few weeks away from completion. It is apparent that each house will take a year to construct. We have now completed the set out for the remaining three houses and have a good understanding as to how each building will look insitu ad in relation to each other. The interesting design elements are the consistency of the finished ffl, the close proxiity of each building at the top at circa 1.8m apart running down to 18m at the tail end and the revealing size of each building when inside. The spaces between are very pleasant. No sense of intimidation from the long walls. To facilitate further the privacy we have planted some 50 tree ferns betwee n the two houses at the narrowest point to improve privacy in the space between the buildings and to give a terrific outlook from the long kitchen windows. Images to be posted later in september.

Nice line

2007-04-10T05:36:00.002-07:00

Lines in the horizontal

2007-04-10T05:36:00.001-07:00

Interesting lines in the horizontal plane

2007-04-10T05:36:00.000-07:00

Whilst the built form was known and I have written previously about the spaces between buildings what is apparent know is the horizontal plane. Moon,light is not a flat site, whilst earthworks have been minimal the ffl for all the houses was set at 206m, with the roof profile on the second complete the reader know has a first look and appreciation of how all five will look, when finished.

With the saw tooth little of the roof is seen, now what is apparent is that the profile whilst driving in the light reads in the landscape from the viewer arriving on site as a thin line, nothing is skylined, except for the chimney flue.

Yes elevations where completed for a house, but I did not consider how five of these would look in the landscape, now physically we can can begin to apprecite the horizontal plane. Very interesting, gives me a great sense of anticipation as to how all five will look when this phase is complete.

Effeciency gains

2007-02-23T12:35:00.000-08:00

The builder has advised me that we are on track for a late June finish of the second house. What does this mean? Well the speed of construction has been considerably reduced, overall at this time it looks like the team will have reduced the build time by some four months.

How has this been achieved, very few bad weather days, knowing what they where building removed the mystery. The team also believe that they have gained some 10% effeciency in construction. As effeciency are gained as all five are built will this mean that they become regimented in overall feel? We wait to see.

Spaces between buildings

2007-01-20T13:51:00.000-08:00

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Busy period

2006-12-09T02:46:00.000-08:00

Well the second lodge is about the same stage at the first, brickwork almost finished. The roof form is up and we can see more of the emerging spatia relationship with the tow built forms. I expect the second lodge to finish in July.

Now the focus has shifted to marketing the lodges to clients which has kept me occupied for the last few months.

Thought you might like to have a look inside

2006-08-25T14:08:00.000-07:00

Well the before and after image of the formal living area. Already if feels like such a long time ago that the building was at this stage, the worry the dust, all recede into memory.

Why are tv aerials ugly?

2006-08-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

The team at Moonlight have taken a winter break so not muct to comment on. We installed a tv aerial on No.2 it is ugly, no I know that i can install a aerial on the roof of the big shed, run a cable that will split the signal to service each house that is good news and removal of a ugly object sitting some 2 metres above the roof that gave me a shock when I saw it.

So if in a car aerial have been removed and built into the windows of a car, why has the technology not been developed for a house?

Slab & Brick Piers

2006-07-24T14:37:00.002-07:00

Murcutt/Lewin No . 3 slab down awaiting structural steel

2006-07-24T14:37:00.001-07:00

Murcutt/Lewin No.3 footings

2006-07-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

Freedom of expression is often a rare event in forming urban spaces

2006-06-26T02:12:00.002-07:00

I wrote a couple of entries ago ago the formation of spaces between the buildings.

Well the image below starts to show the space that Murcutt & lewin have set about creating between these five houses. Whilst we are building 2 & 3 and they are the closest of all the buildings these buildings have the benefit of being completly free from all planning controls with respect to set backs, distance from boundary etc etc, actually the list could on for a while.

So how will the spaces feel, well we have to wait but I recognise that it will not be very often that a Architect gets the opportunity to place a building in the landscape relatively free of planning controls. It will be as I said before interesting to observe how the experiment and the formation of the spaces between each of the houses develops and feels. A social experiment, who knows,spatioal definition drawn from another culture that has been experienced, I do not know. Is the spatial arangement climate driven, not yet aware, this is an intersting part of the journey.

Murcutt 2 & 3

2006-06-26T02:12:00.001-07:00

Philip Drew weekend lecture series at Moonlight

2006-06-26T02:12:00.000-07:00

Moonlight Head is hosting two weekends in October and November with Australia's leading Architectural critic and author, Mr Philip Drew. Each weekend is limited to 4 couples or friends on a twin share basis staying in the lodge. The all inclusive cost for the weekend is $2,750/couple.

If you interested and would like furtheer information please contact john@moonlighthead.com

repetition, yes but no, lets consider the spaces that will form

2006-06-06T05:15:00.000-07:00

The trestles are up for the second Murcutt/Lewin House. The fabrication of the steel some 27 tonnes is well underway. The bricks have been ordered and the team has a feeling that it now knows where it is going which in itself is very exciting, why because the team has a lot of pride in it's work, a desire to deliver. Whilst the first house was difficult in many ways, as it was open for interpretation and occasionally has resulted in correction, this next house is identical to the first but there is a but!

What is the but? Well now we are going to look at the spaces, the form between buildings and how the spaces will change, no longer will we be looking at a building in it's landscape alone, but now it will be a collection of buildings in the landscape.

How we look and feel in these spaces will be interesting as first we move to two, then three, followed by four and finally five Murcutt/Lewin houses, identical but they have been orientated to specfic angles, whilst the land falls away beneath each of the houses, the ffl for each is a constant, now we look at the arrangement, how they interact and how a collection of people will eventually interact in occupying these houses, this is a first for to the best of my Knowledge in that there will be no other collection of Murcutt/Lewin houses in such close proximity so just how will they ineract and read in the landscape? Well construction time will begin to answer these questions.

What is interesting is that first great wall, which has no windows, that wall of confidence will not be exposed in spendid isolation as the spaces between these houses are formed, that is a shame, though I am sure it will be interesting once the walls of Murcutt No.3 are built, then we can consider these spaces and why about the form individually and collectively how the others will form spaces. So the next step will still be writing about the construction but now also look at the urban style spaces that are to form.

What was or is influence for this layout?

Mark

2006-05-26T15:35:00.001-07:00

Front of House

2006-05-26T15:35:00.000-07:00

a little more

2006-05-24T05:09:00.000-07:00

Anything in particular anyone wishes to see during construction?

2006-05-16T04:08:00.000-07:00

Well we are about to start the next house, is there any particular areas of the build programme that anyone would like to see images of? No promises, but I will do my best within reason for all requests. In the meantime, this is the overall site masterplan for moonlight.

No let up in the attention to detail

2006-05-11T04:34:00.000-07:00

As the first house moves to completion I have been on-site every week for the last month. It has been a great experience for me. Watching (and helping) the team go about there tasks with a degree of care and attention to detail is fascinating. One of the interesting pieces as the building moves into it's final form is watching how the architect has considered how elements fit and come together. The pressure, I think, on the builder has been constant, requiring constant thought and thinking about how elements merge or join, considering solutions to potential issues.

It has been a long build as we have all learnt about building a Murcutt/Lewin house and if anything as the building becomes finished theintensity has risen, checking the doors are placed correctly, remain square, that all fits and hangs toghther. As the client you work with the myriad of sub-trades and listein to how they work and give a view on how to improve process on the next house, it also gives opportunity to listein to their experiences and where appropriate think about change such as putting a second boiler for hot water, considering how power will be needed around the house. Ok that is practical advice but the effort the roofing plumbers put into constructing the roof was incredible, the edge details, the end caps or the valleys, all make the roof something else to look at. Then the effort and prudent behaviour of the main builders is reflected in the checking and re-checking of measurement and checking that the framework going up is plumb, these happen not just once but several times to make sure all is correct before the pieces are locked down.

Thanks guys for the effort in building that appears as a reflex action in making sure that the house looks it's best when completed.

Hmmmm definetly getting there....

2006-05-08T04:48:00.000-07:00

Down to the short strokes, preparing for the second house

2006-05-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

Phew, now we can see the finish, the building achieves a stage the the builders refer to as lock up. I was at moonlight all week and it is was exciting to see lots of activity. Now that we head to the finish the questions about where pieces should go intensify right down to the placement of the speakers and the television.

I certainly feel that over the next couple accesibilityto me, the client is important for the builder and his team of sub contractors as objects are located for the last tim

As a team we knoiw look to start the second house with benefit of hindsight, aready their is some 30 tonnes of steel being fabricated for the next house.

2006-04-23T15:35:00.007-07:00

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2006-04-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

Good to go

2006-04-06T14:29:00.001-07:00

Moving outside to inside

2006-04-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

A shift from outside to inside has taken place in the last couple of weeks. Fabricated pieces are being collected and transported to Moonligh, furniture, lights are all being checked as we ready ourselves for completion.

This week the kitchen worktop was shipped to Moonlight. I visited the manufacturer prior to collection, the piece is substantial, 7m long, weighing 300kg it made me realise the the size and scale of the formal living area, a space in it's raw form I was very familiar with, now looking at this bench in the factory I could envisage the change that that was about to take place with the house finally.

Glenn to talk in Zagreb @ 5.30pm April 4th

2006-03-29T00:31:00.000-08:00

I am amazed at the spread of cultures who are tracking the blog. Thank you, there are some 40 people reading the tales of Moonlight every day.

I was contacted last week by Aleksandar Predojevic last week to ask me to post the above public lecture in Zagreb next week. So here are the details and location of Glenn's lecture next week.

Mr. Murcutt will have lecture on April 4 at 5.30 p.m.in cinema Europa, Varsavska street 3, Zagreb. The lecture is free for public, but seats are limited. After lecture Mr. Murcut will open exhibition "Walsh House" in House of Croatian Artists at 8.p.m.

Opportunity to work with a team building a Murcutt/Lewin House

2006-03-20T18:39:00.000-08:00

Work is proposed to start on the second identical Murcutt/Lewin house in April of this year. There is the opportunity for someone to assist the team physically building the house if they are interested

You would need to demonstrate eligiblity to enter Australia. It would suit a self starter, gap year, final year or first year post qualified Architectural student.

If you are intersted then please e-mail me with your cv via this blog also telling me why you want to assist building a Murcutt/Lewin and what you would expect to realise professionally and personally from this opportunity.

Applications required by April 22nd 2007.

Any Questions from anyone?

2006-03-15T04:29:00.001-08:00

2006-03-15T04:29:00.000-08:00

Eastern Flank

2006-03-12T21:56:00.002-08:00

What have we learnt?

2006-03-12T21:56:00.001-08:00

The most effecient piece of advice that I could have given which is counter to everything you feel when you have so long to start a programme like this is wait.

In this instance sit with the builder for 4-5 months till you have every drawing and detail, then ask yourself the question with your builder what is the effecient way of building this form?

This building will have taken almost 11 months to have put up, discussions on the next building is that it will take upto 7 months. What is different about the process?

Well experience and knowledge of the approach taken by the Architects in the process and sequencing required to put together a building of this type. I have no idea if the process is within reason a random walk for other other types of buildings but for Moonlight as the form got closer to completion the sequencing of works becomes critical and interpendant upon each other. By this I mean not the installation of services etc but the actual build process as details intersect with the building, for example. The steel windows where hung but we could go no further till the window frames are in, the fly screens attached and the shutters built and all set on there tracks, as the revel is anged and until all these items are in place we cannot begin to line the internal and start plastering and to continue the journey. As their are skirtings and facings all these pieces are critical to ensuring that we get the look right.

So for the next one what is the likely process? Put the slab down, lay the backing bricks to bring the building upto level. Then erect every piece of steel and weld it all into place in one go. This is all the columns, the sub structure, the ring of steel round the top, the entry dors and and doors onto the courtyard, the windows along the eastern flank, the roof rafters and the 3.5 tonne window frame attached to the master bedroom. Phew some 27 tonnes of steel bolted and welded into place on 2 weeks as opposed to a 8 month piecemeal approach. Now lets the bricks laid and the internals started and the roof on. Wow a lot better. So is 7 months feasible for the next house,yes I certainly believe so based on what I have gone through over the last year.

Of course this journey though will benefit the building of the hotel substantially as we have experience and knowledge.

Are we finished yet?

2006-03-12T21:56:00.000-08:00

Almost. just a few more weeks................ Will the other four be this difficult? Now we now have a appreciation of what it takes to build a Murcutt/Lewin building.

Wall of confidence

2006-02-16T01:44:00.000-08:00

Been a long time..............

2006-02-16T01:06:00.000-08:00

Blogs are suppose to be a diary, well it has been a long time between blogs. No excuse, except busy, exhausted as the building is almost finished, now down to just weeks that will be soon days. Easy journey now, no not yet. When the scaffolding came down I was so overwhelmed with emotion as the building was finally revealed. The earthmoving contractors already had started to bring the landforms back to the building and so one got to see just how the building sat in the landscape.

2005-12-14T11:13:00.000-08:00

It all must line up

2005-12-14T11:10:00.000-08:00

For the last few weeks, Charlie and his team have been putting the roof on the house. Again this is not any roof. The saw tooth roof with the long overhang has surprised us by the intensity of labour to build. Each piece of timber for the roof section is custom shaped to fit. Now the timber sheeting has been applied and measurement taken for the plumber to come and put the steel cladding for the roof on.

But organizing the materials for the roof is a challenge. The roof is pressed steel, which has a laplink joint that stands proud of the roof. The joints and the ridges need to line up with the vertical steels of the roof glazing. A challenge is make sure waste is minimized whilst ensuring that the joints line up as detailed.

Morning at Moonlight Head

2005-11-13T02:39:00.000-08:00

I have been at Moonlight all this week with my four year old son. Waking close to first light most mornings and watching the wildlife with Louis it is not difficult to understand the pleasure that this simple activity provides.

Kookaburras sit on posts searching for an early breakfast, then fly back to the trees to swop upwards onto their selected branch with their family. Magpies craw, a parent has two offspring in tow complete with fluffy chick down show their young how to dig for breakfast. Parakeets resplendent in well preened colours balance delicately on prickly thistles to extract seed heads. Nectar collectors flutter in and out of the fuschia flowers with their long curved probing beaks extracting the goodness.

So the birds provide a great show. They are though complemented by the kangaroos, numbers at Moonlight have increased as the availability of pasture grasses has improved. Watching Kangaroos at Moonlight brings immense pleasure, spotting a joey emerging tentatively from a pouch or two males checking out who is dominant, or just feeding before bouncing off, often silhouetted against the skyline remains a magical sight, though Louis will quickly explain that these are “his Kangaroos”.

It is a magical sight, very refreshing to just watch.

2005-10-27T21:19:00.000-07:00

12 Apostle coastline

Ready with the wow pieces.

2005-10-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

Well the structure/basic form of the building is complete. Now come the wow pieces, these elements that set about transforming the building. This is the Murcutt/Lewin touch. Whilst the buildings form is clearly Murcutt inspired, now it will be the roof, the windows, the entry doors, the access to the private courtyard that will externally create the look and feel of the building. These are not trinkets adorning the building but actually considered elements that are then brought together for a specific function. It will be through the combination of these elements that give the house its feel.

What do I mean, well the Murcutt/Lewin aesthetic whilst has been crafted and honed over a career, there is a evolutionary process in understanding how materials can be used. It is clear that these elements if plagiarised would unlikely to be reflective of the original intent. The design process and the evolution of these pieces for the function that they where chosen to perform has been well considered. There is a palette of materials but from my interpretation there is a sureness revolving around material selection, its form and functional use that takes time to evolve. As a client of the process you need to be confident in the work being created, considered in the response or option to introduce reduced thickness of steel plate, application of paint, whilst such action may reduce cost, from my experience this all needs to occur early in the design process, an attempt to maintain a look and feel whilst seeking out saving as the building is underway from a use of material selected is detrimental to the visual look of the building.

Quick, Quick , Quick, Quick….. slow

2005-10-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

I have learnt that the pace of construction for a new building varies. Whilst you can plan, co-ordinate and liase with the builder and suppliers for the continued manufacturing of materials off site and supply of product, production bottlenecks can and do occur, even in unlikely locations. Now it is how quickly you anticipate/spot the bottleneck and work to keep your production on track. Over the last month Moonlight has suffered so where was the production bottleneck, well seasonal bouts of the flu, and the recruitment by a major heavy industrial operation in the district at considerable salary premiums of skilled sub-trades in the region drained one of the sub-trades of staff. This second bottle-neck is worth a case study in some many ways from a business perspective.

Moonlight does not have a big team, we are building one special house, but the learning from this project here translate for main event, the hotel, whilst the team would be larger it will be prudent to spend some time at the white board thinking through the what ifs with key advisors on the hotel.

Still this part of the experience is behind us, production rate of material has picked up to the norm and move forward, locking down the last of the sub trades.

Building progress

2005-09-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

Well good progress has been made over the last 3 weeks. The floor over the accommodation wing has been laid with the step down in place to accommodate the falls for each of the bathrooms. All of the timber stud work is up, so you can now see how the rooms sizes are and the location of the windows. The steel columns are up, though now we are waiting for the steel roof sections to arrive on site. The bricklayers have had a good run aided by the weather so they are at grid point “j” on the long western flank of the building.

This week the window, that I have been talking about for a long time should be transported up onto the site to be lifted into place, this will be a monumental step in my mind because of the size/scale of this piece and the transformation to the current built form.

Of course whilst all this is going on there has been numerous other activities to keep the building and the opening of the lodge on track such as sourcing floor tiles, bathroom fittings including the bath, door hardware, free standing lighting, kitchen appliances and furniture has been sourced for delivery.

The weather has been very favourable and one keeps looking at the satellite maps watching and waiting thinking is this going to be the storm that will slow the build down, of course once the roof is on we can relax a little bit.

Big Boys Meccano

2005-08-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

Today the steel fabricator, Des called me, his excitement level about his work is infectious and great to have the enthusiasm. Des and his team have been working flat out to get the structural steel fabricated. Today the majority was delivered on site now we have to bolt all this together. Des will have fabricated circa 17 tonnes of steel in order to build Moonlight, with about 3 tonnes of reinforcing steel. This building will contain close to 20 tonnes of steel.

So over to Charlie and his team now, bolting it all together, so over the next week a lot will happen, floor down, columns up for the roof structure and then the roof structure itself. I have always maintained that plumbing work is big boys meccano but these steel columns is the real stuff.

PS If you have been following this blog you may remember that I wrote in June about the negative impact a wet winter would have on the build programme. As you will have seen the project has been fortunate with number of fine days as the images have shown.

2005-08-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

So where is piece b4 that connects to.....

2005-08-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

Brick wall detail, 2 days later than image below. Note how the mortar is drying out.

2005-08-26T04:27:00.000-07:00

22,000 face bricks to be laid, even from randomness the eye seeks out patterns

2005-08-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

Moonlight Head Coastline

Outside the norm: Brickwork

2005-08-25T14:25:00.000-07:00

After much discussion, observation and consideration the external brickwork has started. This has been an interesting part of the journey as this element does not fit within the norm. Moonlight is using a blend of Daniel Robertson bricks. Why these bricks, well they are gas fired but in batches rather than the continuous kiln method. Fortunately Daniel Robertsons are produced outside of Melbourne, though I had been using the web to search for batch fired bricks. Then the selection is for 50mm bricks, to get the organic feel from the bricks the spec required the purchase of seconds. So the bricks are crusty, have substantial colour variation, maybe banana shaped, fused together or just plain ugly….

Getting the brickwork right some 300 bricks where laid with various trowelling off effects and mortar mixes to examine what the finished look would be in order to make a decision. Now the next part is that neither the mortar nor the joint thickness sits within the Australian standard so the engineer’s approval and specification is required, oh dear must have been a real issue for those romans when starting their dwellings.

Now we have rejected bricks that are half the thickness of a standard brick, using a mortar that is not the standard that is to be trowelled on at a thickness of greater than 10mm. Well the reaction of the Quantity surveyor is close to panic, therefore most be loads of money to lay, a “tier 2” builder who looked at the hotel which has the same brickwork detail said when looking at the job, oh need stonemasons to do this work = expensive.

Reality, the effect sought by Moonlight is not the norm agreed, but once the bricklayers tried out several mortar mixes and trowelling off effects to achieve the desired look and the finish was agreed upon the construction speed is at a rate that is above average for a bricklayer. The cost that is no more expensive than laying regular bricks, reality bites be prepared to challenge the norm and think laterally.

2005-08-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

Up close, mortar is still green, will dry to white

2005-08-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

Finished panel of brickwork

2005-08-24T04:04:00.000-07:00

Steel Columns part of circa 9 tonnes of steel

2005-08-24T04:03:00.000-07:00

Cross Bracing

2005-08-18T03:45:00.000-07:00

Structure to take 3.5 tonne window frame at end of house

2005-08-18T03:33:00.000-07:00

Sample wall for Moonlight. Anyone know the architectural influence for this look?

2005-08-18T03:30:00.000-07:00

Materials galore: Bricks and flooring ready

More on climate etc

2005-08-12T17:47:00.000-07:00

An understanding of rainfall cycles was also crucial not only understanding how often the rain falls, but at what intensity, for how long and how Moonlight could efficiently use this resource, then there is the management of evapo-transpiration through irrigation and wind management, storage of treated water through the year, one year in ten rain effects to consider, attitude and appreciation. Then understanding and working with the hydrologist how the captured resource would be post treatment be discharged back into the environment with zero impact.

For Glenn & Wendy this matrix of information combined with solar data to evaluate and determine the management of solar gain and loss on the various potential building sites within the farm was evaluated against the buildings overall footprint determined by the design brief. The climatic extremes had to be considered when evaluating where to site the buildings to maximise the comfort of the people who would eventually stay here.

Recalling The Start

2005-08-12T17:41:00.001-07:00

Once Glenn & Wendy had agreed that they would undertake Moonlight as project the process of information gathering started. The first information request from Glenn & Wendy at the start of the design process for Moonlight were the wind roses and climatic information for the region as well as geologic and soil type data. This was followed up with topographical information from the site survey from the surveyor to gain an understanding of landform, drainage systems, development of vegetative systems across the site.

Glenn & Wendy outlined how crucial water management was for all places of habitation in Australia. For a person who had spent 16 years living in London, where rain is a frequent event throughout the year, I understood the advice but took the information rather casually after all when we purchased the block we where aware that the annual rainfall was circa 1100mm pa. This is a reasonable amount of rain. Now that I have lived in Sydney for a year where rain is almost a celebrated event, I appreciate that 1100mm of rain is a lot but if the fall is dominated by one season, there is typically only so much that you are prepared to capture and store.

The following set of wind roses from Cape Otway show the seasonality of wind direction and strength as just one element that Glenn & Wendy considered when preparing the site masterplan for Moonlight.

2005-08-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

Wind roses by season, Spring.....

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The day after....

2005-07-22T17:24:00.000-07:00

The start and on cue the slow drizzle starts

2005-07-22T17:21:00.000-07:00

Concrete pump in place, awaiting the first concrete truck

Out of the Ground

2005-07-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

Last week the weather looked favourable for the pouring of the slab. A anti-cyclone moving across behind a low pressure system that would pass at the weekend. Favourable conditions for the pouring of concrete. The steel work had been laid and inspected by the Building inspector.

Tuesday arrived, the concrete pump arrived before the sun had risen and as it backed into place the light drizzle began……………… Not enough to stop the laying of concrete but not the best working conditions though I had the impression that these conditions where hardly the worst this team had endured. The pour went well. By Wednesday the formwork was stripped away, the building was out of the ground!

2005-07-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

Stairs off the courtyard into thelandscape

2005-07-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

Accommodation wing with footings set out

2005-07-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

Ready to box up for the concrete slab

Charlie Notices the Patterns

2005-07-01T21:36:00.000-07:00

Charlie, the builder that I have engaged has an eye for detail. Whilst having built more houses than I (my total remains at zero) and having a better appreciation of the intricacies of the weather patterns of this region than I as a recent blow in of some 5 years also has demonstrated a bloody good eye for anticipation of the detailing that is to be required as this Murcutt/Lewin building rises out of the ground.

Earlier this week we discussed the fabrication of the steel for the columns, the rear window and firebox all of which are considered objects that you do not just gas axe the steel and weld together. Charlie’s point was clear from his visit to Glenn & Wendy’s house is that every item is considered in the way in which it is detailed and brought together. Charlie outlined his discussion with Des the steel fabricator on the 16mm steel plate structure that forms the window frame assembly for the rear of the house. There are minimal dimensions though not a reason to scream but a reason to pause and consider, ensuring that the builder thinks and discusses how each element comes together. In this instance it is how the width of the window frame circa 5m wide and almost 6m high of 16mm steel plate (obviously some fun to come when this piece is to erected) comes together to meet the bricks. It is the junction of the materials that the eye focuses on (yes I remember this bit of design detailing in a fog from my post grad studies in Landscape Architecture). Charlie enthuses that the dimension for this window and all the other windows will be controlled by the junction of the materials enabling the eye to flow across the building. This flow though is controlled by shop drawings and the dimension of a brick and consideration from the builder and his team. Thanks Charlie!

2005-06-15T03:16:00.000-07:00

View from Moonlight to the Southern Ocean

Like a liner leaving the dock.

2005-06-15T03:09:00.000-07:00

Well physically there are now things happening on site. Trenches are being dug, reinforcing steel has been delivered, beating the latest 8% price increase, ready to be tied and put into place for concreting. Though we cannot pour concrete until the building inspector checks the steel and the trenches to ensure that the work has been carried out in accordance with code.

This start process for someone who has been waiting just short of 5 years to get going seems to have taken an age, but in the background the project team has been validating data, almost preparing the ingredients to ensure that the element that takes the longest will be ready for delivery when required.

Now the footings are in, the bricks etc to take the slab laid, orders for the intensive pieces of pre-fabricated steelwork placed to attempt a smooth process. For me as the person telling the bank to issue the cheques against work not completed or spent not directly in my control the process feels strange, though I continue to remind myself to keep the foot on the cost brake as once the capital is spent in construction you cannot return it.

Once, I guess whilst this all feels slow hence the liner analogy what is really happening for those who have an interest in the building of Murcutt is that the chassis, the underbody is being constructed onto which the visual elements of the building will be attached.

I am not unfortunately going to Moonlight until early July as I am attending a Tourism trade show in Perth next week, but I am itching to go down to site. I have ordered a satellite dish so that we can stream information relating to the construction back to Sydney as a management tool for resolving construction issues as they arise.

Weather Forecast for the Winter of 2005

2005-06-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

Construction in the winter in the Otways is not going to be easy. The winter rain brought by the Antarctic weather systems are fairly constant. They deliver the wind and the rain at temperatures that minimise evapo-transpiration, whilst keeping grass growth to a minimum producing wet and spongy conditions to work in. The combination places pressure on the dairy farmer to manage the pasture to keep paddocks in reasonable shape and to maximise the opportunity through drainage that as the temperature rise and sunshine hours increase that the grass gets every chance to grow.

For the builder these same climatic conditions have an impact on their ability to build. So getting the team onto the buildings concrete slab is a key part of a winter build programme avoid the traipsing of mud and clay across the site. Last winter was the wettest for 20 years, this year the forecasters are predicting that the winter period will yield circa 40% of it’s average rainfall, whilst this is good for a builder, remaining dry and potentially minimising the number of days lost to inclement weather, whilst giving good momentum to the build programme at Moonlight, for the dairy farmer this could present a difficult season if the dry conditions run into spring.

2005-04-28T03:43:00.000-07:00

This is Moonlight Head.....

It is not just paint

2005-04-28T03:39:00.000-07:00

Moonlight has a large agricultural shed some 30m long by 9m deep by almost 7m high which the local authority required me to paint. I consulted with Glenn & Wendy as to colour etc to ensure consistency with the all the buildings at Moonlight. Their choice was a micaceous paint in a dark grey. The paint is targeted for industrial use, suitable for pipelines heavy mechanical uses etc. It took the 2 of us, I find painting, like plumbing to be therapeutic having undertaken the refurbishment of several houses in London over the years, 6 days to paint. The undercoat went on easily but the dark grey was cursed as it went on the rollers on a extending pole weighed several kilos. Against the corrugated iron it was easy to run straight up and down the full height of the building but lifting the roller to the shed was an effort.

There is no forgiveness with this industrial paint it is says 3 coats on the tin and that to get the coverage is exactly what you have to deliver. Given that this is the paint to be used on the external finishes throughout Moonlight, there is no opportunity to reduce the painting cost by reducing the requirement from 3 to 2 coats as I had previously thought in a cost estimate provided by the QS for the hotel, so lesson learnt there.

Anyway now the shed is painted, it recedes into the landscape, the micaceous finish of the paint now that the resin has had time to harden looks great yielding a shimmer as the sun shines on the painted iron, great! Certainly not many sheds in Australia this colour, I will not comment on colourbond in the Australian rural landscape……

Now when the quote from the painter comes in I will understand the time and coverage that should be allowed for, lesson learnt.

“The devil is in the detail”- a phrase that I realise will be consistently applied to this building.

2005-04-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

Earthworks

Last week I had two small earthmoving machines arrive on site to clear and prepare the site for builder for a few hours, not the frantic weeks of activity when the hotel platform was cut last year. The machines, using laser technology to guide them with pinpoint accuracy, shaved the topsoil from the upper part of the site. As I watched the machines work it became increasingly apparent that whilst the building at the ocean end is almost 5m out of the ground, house will touch the earth lightly.

Rather than taking a typical approach, possibly a compromise in my opinion where the earthworks are set out to either sink the building into the landscape by cutting into the upper contours or by blending with a compromise with a bit here and there till the form neither sits in or out but more uncomfortable, the Architects have committed themselves to a height above datum that existed already to become finished level and then let the building evolve from that contour line. (This approach of working with the contours is very evident in the hotel platform that has already been cut).

I believe as the building platform takes shape over the nest few months that decision to run the floor straight into the landscape will set about making the transition from outdoor to indoor space seamless. Whilst as you move around inside the building a feeling of building whose weight is substantial, yet should give the appearance of resting gently on the landscape will become apparent to the viewer, as the land falls away beneath the building.

Attached are a couple of images of the earthworks, the reader should away that the vertical rise from where I took these photos from one of the building to the other with the change in level being circa 2.6 metres. The shift in the vertical when standing outside remains deceptive to me. It will be interesting to look at the building from this perspective as it becomes a built form.

Mark

2005-04-16T16:07:00.000-07:00

Looking to the East from Western corner of house sire

2005-04-16T16:06:00.000-07:00

Eastern end of house site

2005-04-16T16:02:00.000-07:00

Earthworks for First Murcutt & Lewin house

2005-04-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

View from the Murcutt/Lewin Houses across to Cape Otway Victoria

2005-04-08T21:06:00.000-07:00

Moonlight Head, The Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia

A start

2005-04-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

March 2005.

Five years ago I first saw the farm that is to now eventually become Moonlight Head. The vision to build a first class luxury hotel and houses in a semi wilderness location on the Great Ocean road remains.

When I started at the age of 37 (now 42) and Glenn Murcutt and Wendy Lewin agreed to undertake this commission, I never thought, and I am sure Glenn & Wendy did not think that we where about to embark on a 10 year project. I knew it would be their largest project when built but did not think that the process this undertaking would pass through could make the transition from vision to reality such a long journey, my family did not think so.

Personally, two of Glenn’s quotes continual circulate in my mind as reminders to me of the continual need to follow Glenn and Wendy’s instinct in the design process for a building which are “for every good building you need a good client” and that “an architect is only as good as their last building” Whilst my experience as the client of an architect is restricted, I certainly have strived to be an objective client who contributes to the process of design from which a great building should evolve.

Now after a significant capital investment in intellectual property I am finally expecting to start working with a local builder on the first Murcutt/Lewin house, due for completion in November of this year.

Initiating construction of the first house represents the transition from the intangible vision to the tangible. The landscape that the first of these five house is to placed is a beautiful place, private, tranquil, where weather fronts pass quickly through. A place where you can relax, listen to the chatter of the bush whilst staring at a sky absent of any jet trails. This linear house, orientated to capture the Northern light, whilst maximising privacy and views to the bush and the ocean, looks on plan an awe inspiring place to habitat, truly blessed as it rises from the ground with its sense of place. Now that journey of construction when I next update this blog will I hope have started.

Please do not hesistate to ask any questions or visit www.moonlighthead.com

Mark