Those who know or live in Hobart, Tasmania, experience a city nestled in the foothills of Mt Wellington (elevation: 1271 metres/4170 ft) with most of its dwellings on hills – big hills, small hills, usually steep hills. You get fit or die trying in this town. Or you drive. Or ride an electric bike.
So why call our blog ‘Hobart hill house’? It’s a reaction to much of what passes for ‘residential architecture’ these days, which can be summed up by terms including ‘look at me’, ‘over the top’, pretentious, ostentatious, McMansion and ‘more money than taste’. This house is designed to be different. It’s a house on a hill in Hobart – simple as that – and more. We hope you will be surprised and delighted by what you discover here over the next 6 or 7 months.
What of the panoramic photo of the city (above) with a shrouded Mt Wellington? Hobartians would consider it a typical shot but for the hidden summit. The mountain, as it is known here, is indomitable. It offers myriad physical and sensory delights to residents and visitors, it shapes the weather and offers 100 different daily moods and scenes to those who take a moment to simply look up or walk its tracks and trails. Most Hobart houses or backyards, modest or otherwise, have a spectacular view of the mountain. Ours won’t, though looking at our house from Proctors Saddle across the Southern Outlet it will be framed in part by the summit above and behind, at least on a clear day. So we’ve chosen a truthfully sly image above: with the Organ Pipes obscured. But if you must know what the mountain looks like … when it isn’t hidd
en in the clouds:
And if you’re curious about what we will see from our finished Hobart hill house on Woodcutters Road, Tolmans Hill … you’ll also find out just one of the reasons we chose this site.
Want some background on how this build came to be? About the project will fill you in. Want to find out about this house’s interdependent functionality, materiality and delight and where these ancient-but-oh-so-modern concepts come from? Go for it. Want to focus on the build itself and the week-by-week progress? Our chronological posts are right where you’d expect them. We welcome your comments, questions and criticisms and we hope you will subscribe.
So what’s special about this house on a hill in Hobart?
To find out, we invite you to come along with us: Jenny and Doug, our architects Uta and David Green at Green Design, our builders Elise and Ian Simondson of Skookom and their skilled and dedicated tradespeople, structural engineer Leigh Saltmarsh of Aldanmark and building surveyor David Morey of Pitt&Sherry. Without all of us, this Hobart hill house wouldn’t be.
Hobart hill house 
Great Doug a blog. Great project. X
Thanks Agnes. I hope you enjoy it.
Really looking forward to seeing it develop, Doug…then seeing it for real.
Thanks Richard. Despite some minor hiccups, such as a 1-month delay in getting started, it’s been wonderful to both observe and do a bit. We’re looking forward to the first of many visits from you both when you’re in this hemisphere. At the risk of violating some unwritten blogospheric protocol, suffice to say that your blog was and is a major inspiration for this one.
Nice blog Doug. I look forward to seeing this all unfold!
Thanks Warren. We are too!
Hi Doug and Jenny, WOW! I was blown away by your email this morning with the link to your blog, which I just read. I LOVE Hobart too and can imagine why you are there. I love the look of your house and look forward to reading more and seeing photos of the building’s progress. love from Barb xx
Thanks Barb! Next time you’re here you’ll get the full tour, whether before or after completion.
Nice work Dougie … By the way … I rode my bike up Mt Wellington!
(with no electric motor)
Andy, the mountain and this town were made for you. I reckon going downhill would’ve been more enjoyable — though not as good for your cardiovascular health!
Great work The Doug! Love your eloquent blogging. You ought to write a book. Glad you’re putting in the extra effort to not build a toboggan house. Your blog makes me feel like I’m there. Thanks for the effort matey, I miss you guys like crazy & this makes us a part of your lives.
Michele, if the blog makes you (and others) feel like you are here and a part of this adventure, then we have already achieved something. Enjoy, and ‘Live vicariously’, as another friend said she is doing when she wrote to us earlier today.
We are looking forward to seeing the amazing planning that is such an integral part of your build come to fruition. A great blog!
Thanks Gwen and Ron. We won’t tell anyone that any vicarious enjoyment you derive from this project may come from the fact that you live only 2.9 km (1.8 mi.) away…
Fabulous! Congratulations Doug and Jenny. It’s going to be a wonderful place to live.
Anthony
Thanks Anthony. We hope to see you out here one of these days! If you subscribe to the blog, there’ll be some surprises as things develop. Promise!
Looks good, what is your bushfire plan?
Hi Chris, our bushfire plan will be the subject of an upcoming post.
Hi, lovely project! What were some of the factors in determining the design of the water channel at the base of the butterfly roof (materials/dimensions)? Are worst case scenarios incorporated such as heavy rains, ice damming from snowfall, etc.? We are considering something similar in a northerly climate and want to avoid leakage at all costs! Thanks.