Mori House
Expertise need not be a solitary pursuit. When people with deep knowledge of their field remain open to like-minded collaborators, listen closely and take one another’s ideas and needs seriously, the result can become more than the sum of their experience. Familiar assumptions are tested, and an unexpected direction can emerge. Mori House in Mount Martha, Victoria, grew from this kind of exchange. The concept design was developed by Portuguese architect Manuel Aires Mateus, while Melbourne practice MA+Co acted as executive architect. Homeowners Jeff Provan, co-founder of Neometro, and Mariko Mori Provan were closely involved in shaping the house. Restrained in form, the coastal residence draws on several cultural traditions to give shape to the couple’s vision of multigenerational living and the unhurried rhythms of life by the sea.
In Japanese, mori means ‘forest’. The name refers to the gnarled coastal tea trees that frame the site and to Mariko Mori Provan’s family name. It also reflects the couple’s affinity with Japanese design. The architecture is pared back, allowing light and views of the landscape to define the rooms. Aires Mateus conceived the house as a roughly cruciform composition. Its concrete structure was cast in situ and left with an off-form finish. Four courtyards of distinct character surround the house, incorporating a pool, a garden, an entrance through an olive grove and a chicken run. They allow several generations to gather while remaining closely connected to the landscape. Large glazed openings draw views indoors and place the concrete structure in direct relation to the terrain. The continuity between rooms and gardens recalls Japanese domestic architecture, encouraging closer attention to nature and moments of quiet reflection. A sculptural stair enclosed by tall concrete walls leads to the rooftop belvedere, where the view opens across Port Phillip Bay.
Beauty here does not depend on perfection. It lies in resilience shaped by time, in atmosphere and in a deep connection to place. The gradual weathering of the building’s surfaces can be read alongside wabi-sabi’s recognition of impermanence. It also recalls ‘ruins of the future’, a phrase used to describe Aires Mateus’s work and one that resonated with Provan. In-situ concrete gives the exterior walls their weight. In the coastal climate of the Mornington Peninsula, the exposed surfaces gradually develop shifts in tone and texture. Daylight filters through the cruciform roof lantern and moves across the off-form concrete walls. Natural timber introduces warmth against the mineral surfaces, while changing light brings the seasons into daily life.
The house also had to accommodate the Provans’ extended family while preserving privacy when occupied by the couple alone. Conventional enclosed corridors were therefore omitted; rooms connect directly instead. The cruciform lantern and a sequence of voids organise the interior into four distinct but connected zones. The composition can be read as a loose settlement, with shared living spaces at its centre and more private quarters beyond. A tatami room near the centre of the house reflects Mariko Mori Provan’s Japanese heritage. Mori House ultimately took shape through Aires Mateus’s concept, the Provans’ ideas about how they wished to live, and the local collaboration of Neometro and MA+Co. As executive architect, MA+Co translated the concept into a multigenerational coastal residence, adapting it to the conditions and technical demands of its Australian setting.
