View Hill House by Denton Corker Marshall

View Hill House sits in the midst of a 32-hectare vineyard in Victoria's Yarra Valley.

(Image credit: Tim Griffith)

By Ellie Stathaki

last updated 10 August 2022

in Features

A striking silhouette against the skyline — Sited atop a shallow hill, it offers magnificent views across the vines and creates a striking silhouette against the skyline.

The design to its most elemental forms — Architects Denton Corker Marshall pared back the design to its most elemental forms.

The main body of the house is fashioned from two long metal tubes or 'boxes'. The box embedded in the ground is clad in ribs of rusted Corten steel.

An expansive living space — The central section of the lower box is given over to an expansive living space.

A distinct absence of curves — Furniture and fittings are low key, with a distinct absence of curves.

Monotone materials as in the solid balustrades — ...and a reliance of large swathes of simple, monotone materials as in the solid balustrades.

Board features in the stairwell — Stained strand board features in the stairwell.

The lower box and cantilevered some nine metres over the entrance. — The black-clad 'box' housing the master suite is set at precisely 90 degrees from the lower box and cantilevered some nine metres over the entrance.

The 'boxes' create panoramic vistas of the rolling hills — The glazed ends of the 'boxes' create panoramic vistas of the rolling hills.

From the outside, the minimal dwelling frames the landscape.

Dolmen-like symbol on the far horizon. — The house forms a compass, naturally, but also a stark, almost dolmen-like symbol on the far horizon.

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).