Both dramatic and immersive, the Toorak Residence is conceived from a place of restraint, combining considered minimalism with rich saturated layers. The tumbling yet formal landscape setting softens the building edge and offers a sense of balance. Designed by ADDARC, together with landscape design by Jack Merlo, the inner Melbourne residence is emotively absorptive.
As Jack’s own home, which he shares with his partner and their twins, the generous proportions needed to accommodate both visiting family throughout the year and be able to be partitioned off. The integrated flexibility was a core directive of the brief, ensuring the home could expand and contract and not feel overwhelming or restrictive in the process.
A Simone Karras vessel, Salone tray by Kelly Wearstler, “Changeling’ sculpture by Mark Howson and Tom Dixon pestle and mortar on the island bench.
The Wolf Dual Fuel Range Contemporary induction cooktop in the butler’s pantry.
The monochromatic palette acts as a deliberate canvas, allowing shadows to animate the interiors throughout the day and across the seasons, casting shapes that dance through space. Above the lower floor’s warm and textural datum line, lighter elements delineate the levels. A wall of glass blocks diffuses the incoming light while providing a sense of privacy from the outside.
Above the dramatic staircase that connects the levels, a sea of lightly hung pendant lights create a web style formation. Their thin lines sit sculpturally within the void and become a focal point. Accompanying this initial interaction with the interior, a matched collection of artwork and restrained sculptures add a sense of curiosity and represent a keen insight into its owners.
With his own opus and acting as his own client, Jack Merlo curates the landscape as an unbridled extension of his house and imagination. Framed views and long vistas present themselves as part of a central experience of the home, connecting beyond the interior and enriching the home. The combined formality and softness of the garden add another level of interest.
From the initial moments of engagement to being wrapped by its warming and saturated interiors, the Toorak Residence is a peek into its owners. Welcoming and generous, it is a home for sharing and living life, opening and spilling out into the natural and embracing abundance. Through its refinement, ADDARC and Jack Merlo have created an enduring and timeless home.
‘Queen Bee’ by Richard Stringer
Large and operable panels open to diffuse the traditional boundaries between inside and out, allowing for flowing movement and engaging with natural elements.
Landscape and architecture exist as one in the Toorak Residence, with each framed view curated to create an offering of live greenery from multiple angles within the home.
Long uninterrupted vistas create a gallery-like sensibility, allowing the public and private areas to feel deliberately separate yet connected through a shared grandeur. Sculptures by Guan Wei and Bruce Armstrong.
Concealed behind a dark entryway, a full-height pivot door opens generously into the home as if peaking behind a secret wall.