Shearers Quarters by John Wardle Architects

The aged practice of sheep-shearing is one that requires tactile experience, patience, and dexterity. It is with these traits in mind that John Wardle Architects has designed Shearers Quarters, a compliment to a historic cottage that sits on North Bruny Island in Tasmania, Australia. The form of the building vaults onto the hill behind it, with a sliver of a gabled roof providing an angled entrance that beckons and invites. The triangular, sloped plane of the roof lends shelter to bedrooms that are furnished with recycled apple box crates from the local orchards of Huon Valley. A tall wooden bookshelf is built into one of the walls of the house, and similarly, kitchen cubbies and storage space is cleverly placed into the nooks and crannies of the space. Minimalistic clear light fixtures hang above and illuminate the space with an amber glow. True to its rusticity, the interior of the space is lined with Pinus Macrocarpa, and the wooden planks transport the quarters’ inhabitants into a warm embrace from Mother Nature.