The Art Barn is one of the most sophisticated on the Mornington Peninsula

“We were actually in Berlin during most of the build and through COVID -19, which shows you the confidence we had in our architect,” says Tiffany.

While Ropiha wasn’t channelling the Masters’ houses at Dessau, designed in the late 1920s by the renowned architect and director of the Bauhaus School, Walter Gropius, there is a subtle connection (at least in this writer’s mind).

While the Masters’ houses are smooth, flat and pristine white, the Art Barn is rendered in a tactile grey concrete stucco.

Both buildings appear as strong silhouettes, memories of what stood before.

“We essentially removed the two wings of the ’80s house and completely gutted it,” says Ropiha, whose brief was to also create accommodation within the gallery for a visiting artist to spend time on the two-hectare site.

The couple were also keen to display sculpture outdoors as well as showcase emerging and established contemporary artists, both local and international.

Now a simple two-level structure with expressed chunky columns, Art Barn which, like the house, received numerous architectural awards, comprises a double-height gallery with a mezzanine bedroom, bathroom and storage area above.

There are still a few remnants from the past, including a bluestone wall and an open fireplace (once the home’s living area) now all painted white, as with the soaring walls.

Even the turned timber balustrades have remained, less conspicuous now with their lick of white paint.

To add texture and depth to the interior, new white timber beams straddle the ceiling.

The only colour is the acidic yellow blade wall inset into one of the new windows.

Loading

“There is certainly that sense of memory from the past, but it now is an appropriate backdrop for their art and sculpture, something that wouldn’t have worked by simply tweaking a few walls,” says Ropiha, who enjoyed his clients’ way of thinking, both relates to art and architecture.

In contrast to the Art Barn, the pavilion-style single storey recycled brick house appears recessive in the landscape.

Modest in scale, there are a couple of bedrooms, a living area and a separate office, the latter on the other side of a courtyard.

The residence occupies the deepest part of the site, with the home’s raked steel roof the only element being visible from a distance – its slightly earthy ambience is also a contrast to the Art Barn’s more imposing presence, considerably more pronounced being perched at the crest of the hill.

And while both buildings are impressive, so is the interplay between the built forms and the way both beautifully frame this unique landscape.

Fascinating answers to perplexing questions delivered to your inbox every week. Sign up to get our Explainer newsletter here.