Designed to blend in with its surroundings, the Datum House/Figr sits in a quiet suburban Melbourne neighborhood, offering its residents plenty of sunlight and ventilation, as well as picturesque views of the grassy outdoors. Melbourne-based architecture firm Figr took advantage of the heavy slope — which meant the front was on a much lower elevation than the back end — to cut deeper into the ground on the lower end to slide in another volume, resulting in a two-storied front and single-storied back. Another distinguishing feature is a central courtyard that breaks up the long, linear structure into two volumes, so that sunlight and air can flow through the surrounding dining room and living quarters. Windows, skylight and screen walls further max out the access to sunlight. White weatherboard cladding and the proverbial white picket fence add to the image of suburban idyll.
