Modern Front Elevation with Stacked Stone Volumes

It is a perforated metal screen in a rust tone, hung in front of the upper glass and able to slide across it. The cut pattern lets air and a little view through while cutting the glare and the outside gaze. On the hard afternoon side of a house, a screen like this drops the heat on the glass without blacking out the room. It also gives the pale stone a warm accent against all the grey.

Two main finishes carry the front. The upper boxes are wrapped in a horizontal stone that reads warm and light, laid in long bands. The base and some middle walls are board-formed concrete, where the timber shuttering leaves its grain pressed into the grey. Setting a smooth pale stone over a rough grey concrete gives the house two textures that hold up outdoors far better than paint would on this scale.

The entry is set back and runs double height in glass, so the hall behind it reads tall from the street. A single wood pivot door sits in that glass, wide and heavy, as the one warm material against the stone. Floating stone steps lift you off the driveway to the door. Keeping the entrance recessed and glazed pulls light deep into the house and marks the way in without a fussy porch.

The landscaping is built into the elevation, not added around it. Planter beds run along the terrace edges so greenery spills over the stone at each level. At ground level the entry courtyard has ornamental trees, clipped shrubs and succulent beds set into the paving. Tall palms frame the sides. Green against the grey stone softens a hard modern front and gives the eye something living to settle on.

Each material asks for something different. The rust screen is meant to weather, but it should be sealed so the colour holds and the run-off does not stain the stone below it. The pale stone wants an occasional wash, since dust shows on light cladding. Board-formed concrete is close to maintenance free once sealed. Planters need the usual watering and trimming. None of it is heavy work, but the screen and stone are the two to keep an eye on.

Yes, on both counts. A perforated screen in front of glass takes the first hit of the sun, so the glass behind stays cooler and the rooms need less cooling in the afternoon. The same holes that let air through also break the sight line from the street, so an upper room feels private without heavy curtains. Because it slides, you can open the view when the sun is off that side. That is the real reason it earns its place, beyond looks.

The stepped massing is the big one. Every cantilever that pushes a floor out over open air needs extra structure to hold it, and that steel and concrete is not cheap. Natural stone cladding over a large front adds up in both material and skilled fixing. The custom rust screen and the wide pivot door are made to order. A simpler flat facade in render would cost far less, so these are the pieces to weigh against the budget.