Country housing is a unique type of housing. A house in the country is different, as their location in a rural context present opportunities and limitations, which must be mediated to produce optimal design outcomes. The team at Roth Architecture designs rural housing with the aspiration of making it a retreat from the loud and crowded city landscapes. Alex, director of Roth Architecture, is a country homeowner. This has influenced our rural housing design strategy, as he understands what our clients want and need from our designs and has delivered our clients dream homes that have become an Oasis.
In our experience, clients wish to utilise the space of their large properties. The dwelling and amenities are important, however careful consideration of landscape, vegetation, outdoor amenity, and the wider context of the property are aspects of the project clients seem to care about equally. Our design approach involves careful thinking of what makes this property different to those located in urban environments. Two things come to mind, the size of the property and the type of terrain and weather conditions associated with countryside landscapes. The large size and remote property character allows for the potential to unlock new and exciting design features, otherwise not possible in city landscapes due to neighbour and council constraints. Some of these design features we like to use are large courtyards or meeting spaces, additional amenities like animal wash rooms, and large outdoor entertainment and sporting facilities.
Rural areas in New South Wales and Australia in recent years have been susceptible to extreme and serve weather events such as floods, damaging winds, and bushfires. While the remoteness of these areas has meant more space and less consideration of neighbouring properties in design, it has also meant that we must consider how these designs will respond to harsh weather conditions. Durability is an important part our strategy at Roth Architecture. Through deliberate selection of certain dwelling materials, landscaping, and outdoor design methods, we aim to create long lasting and practical designs, to have the opportunity to withstand the most intense weather conditions.
Notable Project: Foxground Farm