Designed by Tom Robertson Architects, Marraweeney is a weekend retreat that quietly settles into the Victorian countryside.
Melbourne-based practice Tom Robertson Architects were approached to design a retreat within the Strathbogie Ranges of Victoria’s Great Dividing Range, just two hours north of Melbourne, that offered presence without dominance. “The clients didn’t want a typical country house or barn,” Tom Robertson Architects director David Ascroft says. Instead, they sought an environmentally-conscious design that had minimal impact on the land.
Perched at the high point of a ridge, the architects intentionally positioned Marraweeney to subtly embed itself in the terrain, defined by open farmland and exposed granite rock formations. “The building has been designed with a low, horizontal form, aligned with the natural contours of the site,” Ascroft says. A recessed plinth allows native grasses to grow interrupted below, creating the impression that the home floats just above the land, while a low-profile roofline ensures it remains grounded and unobtrusive. Slender steel columns filter light and frame views of the landscape, creating a rhythmic façade that responds to the shifting afternoon sun.
The material palette of timber and expressed dark steel is purposefully restrained to allow the landscape to speak for itself. “Natural charred timber was selected to provide texture, reference the natural tone and textures in the adjacent Blackwood trees and provide contrast with the light flowing grass,” Ascroft reflects.
The kitchen features Spotted Gum joinery, stainless steel and concrete flooring.
The open-plan living and dining area features the De Sede DS-600 sofa, Moller #77 chair and Ligne Roset Intervalle dining table.
Moving inside, clean white plaster walls and ceilings create a calming backdrop, while spotted gum veneer adds a distinctly Australian warmth to the kitchen and ensuite pods. Cool-toned burnished concrete floors extend outdoors, blurring the lines between the interiors and landscape.
A central volume, marked by its elevated ‘popped’ ceiling, anchors the eastern open-plan living, kitchen, and dining area and separates it from the guest pavilion, which was built for the clients to host family and friends. Deliberately lower in scale, the guest house introduces a subtle hierarchy between the primary living zone and the more occasional spaces, preserving the overarching sense of repose.
A 1.8-metre-deep verandah pays homage to the traditional farmhouse vernacular, providing shade from the north-west sun while doubling as a generous outdoor living courtyard. A thoughtful response to the surrounding environment, the covered verandah also protects large expanses of glazing from the harsh summer climate.
The home is designed to be self-sufficient, operating completely off-grid. A robust solar system with battery storage provides extensive thermal insulation, while rainwater and sunlight are harvested and repurposed for everyday use. It was important that the home still offered the warmth needed during the colder months, achieved through exposed concrete flooring that naturally regulates internal temperatures—absorbing heat in summer and releasing it during winter through hydronic heating coils.
“By avoiding the cliché forms of contemporary ‘barn’ style rural architecture, the building became less intrusive on the landscape and allowed the site to be the hero,” Ascroft explains. “We designed this home to allow the views and the site itself to be the main experience from inside,” he adds.
A contemporary reimagining of a Victorian countryside retreat, Marraweeney embraces the quiet rituals of rural life.
An oversized solid timber pivot door reveals sweeping views of the Victorian countryside.
