For over 20 years Greg Epstein has designed new homes and renovations, mainly in Melbourne’s fashionable inner eastern suburbs. When it came to hisown home he had no hesitation: "I wanted to embrace modern design andbuilding technology."
Energy efficiency and therefore site orientation is central to Epstein’s design philosophy. Being north-facing to the street, the site "was challenging, but skillful design can turn a liability into an asset."
Orientation dictated the placement of the outdoor living space to the front. The delightfully landscaped front garden is flanked by a tall rendered fence and overlooked by the north-facing living area. The sunny aspect of thisindoor/outdoor area has a welcoming informality something like a holiday houseor weekender. Two rendered panels of solid brickwork sit unobtrusively in theliving area, further enhancing the building’s thermal mass.
The ground floor facade of the two-storey, three-bedroom house features BlueOnyx semi-glazed bricks. "I’ve always been attracted to dark bricks. Once I saw(Blue Onyx) I knew it was the way to go. It had the colour I was looking for andthat nice reflectivity."
The light mortar colour emphasises the bricks, further intensifying colour perception and contrasting with the light upper level. "Thedarker colour grounds the house, but the light colour lifts it."
How does Greg Epstein feel now about his selection of Blue Onyx? "Bricks are anatural product and you expect their natural variation. It helps identify it as a brick rather than a more precisely-engi-neered product. I like that."
