A response to the various housing and environmental crises faced around the country, The Tasmanian House by Atelier Jiri Lev fuses traditional and contemporary to form a dwelling that is reminiscent of Van Diemen's Land and its natural beauty.
The building has been built with the notions of locality and regionality clearly front of mind. The quaint dwelling cites much of Tasmania’s Georgian architecture, contemporarily translated by designer Jiri Lev.
Tasmanian House uses a number of robust, untreated, locally sourced materials as much as possible. Sustainably sourced plantation timbers form the house’s structure, with sheep wool insulation keeping the house at optimal temperatures in spite of the Tasmanian climate. Lev has done away with paints and chemical treatments entirely, with the use of synthetic materials was minimised to bare compliance with the Australian Building Code. If furniture and a few other components are removed, the house will be able to freely deeply compose, evolving into a certifiable organic garden once the occupant believes it is time to do so.
The dwelling is recognised as the first phase of a larger pavilion house that will exist comfortably either as one or two independent residential units: a studio and a two bedroom family home, each opening into its own private garden. The units will be connected with a partially-glazed cloister, which doubles as a windbreak and visual screen, increasing privacy.
Tasmanian House was built to a cost equivalent to a budget off-the-shelf house, outlining how one might create a home on a minimal budget. Demonstrating the inventiveness of the island state and underlining how self-sufficient the isolated territory is, with a plethora of locally sourced construction materials forming a home that can be easily recreated.
Outlining the wealth of creativity and materials Tasmania possesses, Jiri Lev has been able to create a home that is sustainable, natural and appealing to the eye. What the home lacks in floor size it makes up for with innovation, offering a glimpse into the future of what the project will look like once it’s remaining stages are completed.
