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AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK HOMESTEAD APPEARS IN SONOMA WINE COUNTRY |
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(Sonoma Valley, CA - January 24, 2006) -- Corrugated roofing, catchment tanks, and wide verandas of the main house signal an Australian Outback homestead. Blink again. You’ve been transported to Australia, yet you are squarely in California’s Sonoma Valley. Even the creekside property's bay and oak trees are reminiscent of gum trees and billabongs. The client’s beloved Australia inspired a collaborative project, merging client vision with the design expertise of Australian architect Michael Rigg and Petaluma architect Shawn Montoya's on-site supervision and design interpretation. The architects bridged time zones, language subtleties and cultures to bring their client's beloved Australia to the site. THE DESIGN The project evolved in the organic process of an Australian homestead, which begins with a utilitarian barn, sheds and a homestead cottage. Once the foothold is established, the main residence is set in the midst of the smaller buildings. Two of the site’s original sheds were preserved and relocated. The first new building was a garage modeled after a stable block from an early 1870s homestead in Victoria near Melbourne. The garage was built with stone, a corrugated roof and deep window ledges. It appears to be built directly on the ground, as a stable would be, but in fact has radiant heat floors to keep steady temperatures for vehicles. Indistinguishable from its Australian model, a cottage uses eucalyptus siding in the wattle and daub style, rusting corrugated roof and recycled windows from the property's original homestead. It is sited to preserve a magnificent California Bay tree which arches over the property. A sleep-out porch completes the impression of the cottage as a first living structure on an outback homestead. With these basic buildings in place, Rigg designed a 7200 square-foot home with traditional stone chimneys on each end and cupolas. The design incorporates exposed framing, a style from the 1850s known as an inside-out house, which reverses the Victorian architectural custom of presenting the best face to the world. Typically found in the outback, 10-inch thick walls insulate against heat, a useful feature for hot Sonoma summers. The eight-foot wide veranda is supported by graceful columns, and wraps around the entire home, providing outdoor living space in Sonoma's hot summer season. Under the veranda, ground-level water catchment tanks hearken to the outback's reliance on rainwater and respond to California's dry climate. AUSTRALIAN MATERIALS The architects sourced uniquely Australian woods and materials. Montoya found karri wood from an Australian sheep shearing station through a Ukiah California salvage company, and remilled it for flooring. Other Australian materials include rectangular Sassafras paneling held by Blackwood strapping and trim, a Tasmanian sandstone fireplace and Tasmanian oak. Typical Australian cabinetry, the carvery, divides the kitchen from the dining room, built of Australian Karri wood and Tallowood. A gleaming dining room table and desk are built from heavy Australian Blackwood. For more information about the project, or details about the artisan interiors, contact: Architect: Shawn Montoya, Montoya & Associates,
707-763-8006;
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