5 November 2025 – The House of Light by architecture and design studio Jolson is a layered expression of urban refuge – where handcrafted architecture, integrated landscape and curated artworks converge to deliver a deeply personal response to site and client.
Located on a tightly constrained 280 sqm site in Melbourne, the residence presents an unassuming, monolithic brick façade to the street. But within, the sculptural four-level residence unfolds offering light, privacy and spatial calm.
Emblematic of the protective shell of an oyster, the home is clad in 26,000 handmade bricks in varied tones, creating an intricate exterior that celebrates craftsmanship and tactility.
Together, the natural irregularities of the bricks and soft mortaring technique establish a sculptural fluidity and capture the changing daylight as it shifts across the façade.
A single brick-lined threshold leads to a lush, forecourt adorned with climbing greenery in a deliberate and dramatic moment of arrival. Inside, a softly polished interior skin of curved plaster and stone offsets the exterior’s solidity. Natural light is drawn deep into the building via skylights, voids and hanging gardens.
Warm Turkish limestone runs throughout in varied honed, bush-hammered and carved finishes to delineate space and function while offering a meditative sense of continuity.
Rising the full height of the home, a 14-metre wall frames a staircase lit from above connects all levels in one sculptural sweep, inviting daylight to dance across polished plaster walls. Suspended within this void, a custom light piece by New York-based lighting designer Lindsey Adelman crafted from hand-blown glass flecked with gold, hangs like ornate jewellery within an otherwise restrained canvas, where daylight is the true artwork.
Overlooking the courtyard with elongated views to the framed sky, the ground floor study heroes a bronze-lined bookcase. This same bronze detail is subtly referenced throughout the home, on the handrails, in the kitchen joinery, and vanity unit in the master bedroom.
The second level is occupied by an open plan living area, kitchen and dining space, defined by generous 3.4-metre ceilings that allow uninterrupted light to pour in from a striking east-facing window placed at the edge of a void to create a dynamic sense of space. Framed by a clean architectural shell with a gallery-like feel, the living area is enriched with textural furnishings and art inspired by garden hues—leather seating, the raw grain of stacked firewood, and a handwoven Nepalese rug.
Inspired by the client’s interest in holistic wellbeing, a subterranean wellness area looks out onto a sunken stone courtyard, adorned with ferns and climbing greenery and natural light pouring down from the void above. The consistent application of textured cracked limestone, from the sauna and meditation room walls, the basin and the bush-hammered floor provides a grounded backdrop for moments of quiet restoration.
Like in all Jolson projects, a strong connection to natural light was a primary design intention, architecturally expressed through the folding ridged lines, curvaceous walls, and carefully placed skylights, each offering continual, gentle prompts to look upward, maintaining a constant sense of openness and calm.
Despite its site constraints, the home offers a deeply engaged connection to the outdoors through the integration of vertical terraces and gardens. Landscape designer Rupert Baynes-Williams from Florian Wild introduced a restrained planting palette of climbing vines, sculptural trees and cascading greenery that softens the building’s edges and reaches into every level. Over time, vertical planting will form a living veil across the building’s skin, softening its robust materiality and vertical connectivity.
Working with a specialist art curator, the clients – who were new to contemporary art – embarked on a personal collecting journey, acquiring pieces from galleries and art fairs across Australia by artists including Sally Smart, Ben Quilty, Alex Setton and First Nations artist Mantua Nangala.
Furniture was envisioned as an extension of the architecture and a unique expression of the clients’personalities, with Jolson designing and curating the entire collection. In the living area, the client’s affection for animals is reflected in the long-haired bouclé chairs sourced from Norway, while the Patagonia quartzite benchtop in the kitchen takes on the character of a sculptural furniture piece. On the rooftop garden, Jolson collaborated with master colourist Paola Lenti to curate the furnishings in response to the garden’s evolving palette.
Five years in the making, client trust enabled a holistic design journey that begins at the entry and carries through each detail of the home.
“The client trusted us to create something textural, layered and warm. Our response was to take an artisan approach by working with craftsmen who could bring that detail to life,” said Jaclyn Lee, Jolson
Associate.
Marking 25 years of practice, The House of Light is Jolson’s most profound and personal work, a culmination of architectural excellence, craftsmanship and a deeply considered sense of place.
