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The Denison Rivulet project is a series of cabins, located at a bend in the river just north of Bicheno on the East Coast of Tasmania. The three structures are a testing ground for a future large-scale accommodation development, and have provided the architects Taylor + Hinds with an opportunity to trial materials in the landscape.
Mat Hinds describes how the cabins are informed by the pragmatic history of Tasmanian shacks. In designing the Denison River project, the architecture delivers everything needed, and nothing more. Mat explains that Tasmanian shacks are traditionally ‘spatially compact, but highly purposeful’ and ‘serve to provide a shelter of bare-necessity in the remoteness of the Tasmanian landscape.’
From the outside, an aesthetic of ‘bare-necessity’ may ring true, but inside it is clear that a minimal approach can still allow for luxurious materials and an intimate interior warmth. The glow of the brass bathroom offers an unexpected surprise!
Unlike many projects that are located in sprawling natural landscapes, Mat explains that these cabins are informed by the idea of ‘room making’, rather than a preoccupation with the view. Instead of gazing outwards and viewing the environment as a backdrop, the architects have designed these spaces to expand the sense of the interior. The cabins enhance the visitor’s experience of being IN the landscape, where the architecture captures the quality of the place and provides a memorable experience in its own right.
The design is partly inspired by the Night Beacon’ series by Tasmanian painter Philip Wolfhagen, who captures ‘a fleck of vermillion firelight in the broad blue expanse of the Tasmanian dusk’. The cabins capture that cosy intimacy. like hearing the rain on a tin roof, the three buildings offer a space to be in the landscape, nestled within a practical and beautiful shelter.
