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A house like a tailored suit

Matt Dillon spoke with seven architects before designating Peter Stutchbury as the man for his project. The latter was handed a five-sentence letter not long after with 63 points of interest, including details such as water pressure and light quality. The result is a house that perfectly matches the way Matt lives.
James Silverman | Styling Julia Landgren

For the past thirty years, he could call Tokyo, Hong Kong, Zurich and Bangkok his home. Matt Dillon has spent his life in the world's greatest cities. "Fascinating places, with all the hustle and bustle, sounds and energy that a metropolis presents. Which makes it even more special to end up in a place where I can be overwhelmed by the silence of nature and see the stars at night." When he was back in his native Australia for a family reunion, he visited Blue Mountains National Park. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this park is located on the edge of the Great Australian Divide Mountains, a hundred kilometers from Sydney - although its immense desolation makes it feel like you are on another planet, light years away from civilization. It was here that he fell in love with a neglected property with rampant garden and remnants of a nineteenth-century orchard. With his brother John and a team of architects, landscapers, artists and craftsmen, he worked for four years to transform this site into a home where Matt could indulge his passion for landscapes, architecture and art. "We wanted to make it a kind of sanctuary," he explains. "A custom-built home with an impressive garden, a place where you can completely unwind."

In the design of Pirramimma, as the villa's name reads, you'll find traces of this area's heritage. Blue Mountains provided rich inspiration, from its indigenous history to the unmistakable footprint of settlers and naturalists, including Charles Darwin, who braved the mountains on horseback in 1836. Building on the various historical layers of this place, landscape architect Craig Burton also had to regularly don the hat of historian and archaeologist lest he detract from the historical and cultural value of the former garden. By selectively removing dead wood and unwanted species, the sun has been given more space and the sky blue penetrates. Large sculptures by artists such as James Angus, Marta Moreu and Xie Yuanqing are like guides leading you past ferns and ruins to the meditation circle and mist garden.

Because of his extensive experience with the Australian landscape, Peter Stutchbury was chosen to design the new house. "I chose Peter because he has such a strong connection to the uniqueness of geography and climate here, and respect for indigenous culture," Matt said. In his letter to Peter, Matt explained that he wanted a house that blended seamlessly into the garden and blended into its immediate surroundings. Before Peter made the initial sketches, he camped out on the property to gain a better understanding of the light and lines. Most striking is the vertically rotating zinc roof, which, like a sculpture, seeks kinship with the tall trees. "On the north side of the building, where the roof is at its widest, you can completely open the house to the garden by lifting the window with a big iron turning wheel - really insane! On the south side, where the bedrooms and library are located, the roofline actually becomes narrower and tighter. The roof functions like an aperture, varying from a large opening on one side to a small opening on the other."

From an architectural standpoint, art is woven into every crack and corner of the house, resulting in a motley tapestry in which form and function blur. Ceramics by potter Peter Rushforth and paintings by Leonard French, Arthur Boyd, Miguel Macaya and Yoon Giwon merge with glass sculptures by Lisa Cahill and custom-made joinery. Interior elements are custom-made or carefully hand-picked to complement or enhance Pirramimma's design language. Matt's penchant for mid-century design is evident in such items as classic lamps by Frenchman Serge Mouille and furniture by Hans Wegner and Finn Juhl from Denmark. "I put a lot of energy into picking the right piece for the right space," he says. Ingenuity everywhere you look. In the music room and library, a custom-made magazine rack uses magnetic handles to display the latest editions of various titles. And in the master bedroom, the side bed features an integrated folding table. "The complete house fits Matt like a tailored suit!" agrees carpenter Jeffrey Broadfield.

For colors and materials, we drew inspiration from the rugged region of Blue Mountains, with shades of blue, gray, yellow, eucalyptus green, rich red and reddish brown. "We chose the materials for their strength and honesty," Matt's brother explains. The wood used on both the interior and exterior is recycled Grey Ironbark sourced from a bridge in Redcliffe, Brisbane. "When that was built, it was the longest man-made bridge in the southern hemisphere," John continues. "After first serving for shelter and habitat and then being used for a bridge, the trees now have their third incarnation in the form of a house."

That house is now lived in to satisfaction and sits like a tailored suit. The trees in the garden bear fruit like almond, fig and gooseberry, chickens roam, bees buzz around the hive. With an artist-in-residence program, Matt gives artists, writers and gardeners a chance to expand their creativity and expertise on site. "It has always been my idea to use Pirramimma as a place of inspiration for different purposes," he explains. "A place where you can look back on life and develop new interests."

 

MASTERS MAGAZINE

In the summer edition of MASTERS, an interview with Sven Kramer, a driving impression of the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport and an examination of Max's Effect. But above all, it features people who bring light into the darkness. Like Henk Jan Beltman, who took over Tony's Chocolonely because with a business you can make the world a more beautiful place. Chef Emile van der Staak, who has the ambition to change our food culture and therefore cooks with plants and vegetables sourced from the food forest. Designer Nienke Hoogvliet, who has introduced natural seaweed paint as an alternative to harmful textile dyes. And Anna Nooshin, who denounces the current social media culture of pretty pictures. In her documentary, she also shares the less beautiful aspects of her life. All of them people who ask questions, present mirrors, make steps. Steps toward a healthier world and more understanding society.

 

MASTERS #50