VISION Issue 5 | Page 6

6 Vision Magazine LARGE HOUSES TEND TO BE POLITICALLY INCORRECT BUT EVERY SO OFTEN THE LARGE HOUSE, THE MANSION, RESTORES BELIEF THAT QUALITY AND QUANTITY CAN CO-EXIST UNDER THE ONE ROOF. Michael O’Sullivan Vibe Design Group Right Classical elements contrast a sharp modernity. Bottom The house prior to its renovation rescue. A n abandoned, stage-set house of no fixed era is hardly fertile ground for a grand new vision. The Eaglemont House would have remained a grandiose basket-case but for a young family with a plan to build its dream home and convert the uglyduckling into a swan. Large houses tend to be politically incorrect but every so often the large house, the mansion, restores belief that quality and quantity can co-exist under the one roof. A good measure of architecture is its ability to overcome adversity. Every building designer loves the idea of the grassy knoll. This project had no such luck. Vibe Design Group faced the altogether harsh reality of dealing with a latter day Gone With The Wind knock-off. Confronting, let alone digesting, such mistakes were daunting. Vibe decided to run with a more sustainable approach that retained just enough of the errant original. Hardly decent design DNA you might think, but the firm persevered where many others would have surrendered. The abandoned residence presented 70 sq. of nonfunctional spaces that included indoor pool and spa. Lacking proportion and elegance and without regard for energy efficiency, the house, quite deservedly, had no shortage of detractors. Loving the site but not the house, the new owners – both avid collectors of Aboriginal art – wanted exhibition space and a house of classical scale and proportions. Improvisations included a vigorous and appropriate use of glass to amplify and modulate the opportunity.