Located\u00a0near the beaches of Blairgowrie, Australia, the Letterbox House<\/a> is\u00a0designed by\u00a0McBride Charles Ryan<\/a>. This building \u00a0begins as the letterbox and unfolds to become an irregular open verandah. An outer, dark wooden shell is chopped away like an axe to a log, albeit lowered in resolution.\u00a0 A lighter, natural wood\u00a0colour\u00a0gives character to the sliced section, which in this case becomes a deck for outdoor entertainment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to the Architects:<\/p>\n “It\u2019s like a half space, half enclosed, half open. Neither in nor out \u2013 a new version of the good old Aussie verandah.\u00a0Its like a giant multi-sensory organ, the sun, the sky, the breeze and the sound and smell of the sea \u2013 When you arrive here of an evening and stand here and see the stars, no matter how still it is, you smell the sea \u2013 suck it in, it transforms you, reminds you (of what matters), it\u2019s a kind of tonic.\u00a0We like the buildings that make you smile (not laugh).It makes people smile, a building with the smallest fa\u00e7ade on the peninsula \u2013 the building begins as the letterbox and unfurls to become this healthy scaled verandah, to some it is an upturned boat, to others it a wave a cliff. We like it being many things \u2013 people stop and ask us, we just say it is what it is to you<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n We wanted to show respect \u2013 the peninsula needs it, and the scale here was modest beach suburban \u2013we wanted to respect that scale \u2013 and yet as you walk along the deck the scale sneaks up on you \u2013 before you know it your immersed and surrounded by the scale of the house \u2013 a bit like life really.\u00a0The peninsula is the place where you suspend formality and convention for a while \u2013 we wanted the building to do this and to remind you of that \u2013 it moves too far from architectural convention towards the other disciplines – that was the intention. It becomes ambiguous \u2013 What is it? Where is the front door? You don\u2019t need a \u2018front door\u2019 in a holiday house \u2013 you just find\u00a0 your way in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n