Materia is a family home and architectural studio in St Kilda, created by a single force acting as client, builder and architect — a rare convergence that turned the site into a laboratory for the “Architect as Maker.” It treats sustainability not as a set of technological add-ons, but as a fundamental commitment to longevity, performance and craft.

The project is Certified Passive House Plus. Rather than simplifying the architecture to suit the standard, a spatially complex, materially assertive home — sculptural concrete, generous glazing, shifting volumes — was engineered to certified performance, proving that rigorous building science and expressive design can coexist. Paired with significant solar generation and battery storage, the airtight, heavily insulated envelope allows the home to run close to off-grid and to generate more energy than it consumes, while delivering a stable, filtered, acoustically silent interior — a “sensory silence” that actively supports wellbeing.

Photography: Peter Bennetts