It is with great sadness that we said farewell our dear friend and colleague Kalvin Fleischer in Dec 2023.
We are truly grateful for the kind, calming presence and the vast knowledge and experience Kal shared with the many clients, builders, consultants and those he worked alongside.
Kal started at Slap as a teenager in 1989, and apart from a short break in the early days caused by an economic downturn, he worked here ever since spaning a 30+ year career at Slap. The respect he gained from people in the building industry was enormous. It was his sense of fairness, not softness that stood him in high regard. He knew his stuff, he was practical and didn’t overlook details that were poorly executed, but he was always fair minded and was solutions focused. More than that,
he was Slap’s moral compass, and was the calming influence maintaining a steady ship.
We miss him dearly.
Our deepest condolences go out to Kals family and loved ones during this sad time.
“The clients wished to create a house that sat comfortably in the landscape as well taking inspiration from the existing farm buildings on site”
The house is sited as part of a working farm Green Hills Farm that has been established by the client to regenerate 150 acres of West Gippsland pasture and bushland. The house functions as a centre for their operations, a family home and a place from which they can offer different experiences. The property is accessed via a steep road that overlooks the remainder of the property below. The house is approached past the orchard and garden beds of the farm and the main house is nestled into the hill with a timber board and batten wall facing the approach. As you enter the breezeway through a large red sliding barn door, the space opens up to the valley below. The central breezeway uses recycled brick that contrasts with the rough timber lining boards used throughout the house. The boards reflect the timber boards that were on the interior of the milking sheds that used to stand on the site. To the left is the large central space with glazing to the full extent of the West façade looking over the valley. The space is defined by several large, exposed timber trusses and columns supporting the timber-lined roof. The trusses were constructed on site by the builder. The rear wall features the same recycled brick used in the breezeway. The floor is burnished concrete, and this material is echoed in the kitchen benchtops. The interior uses black detailing in the joinery, steel splashback and the steel plates joining the timber trusses.
The far end wall has a custom formed concrete bench with a steel firewood rack at one end. An open fireplace perches on the bench with exposed flue through the ceiling.
The bedroom wing is on the other side of the breezeway and has two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a master bedroom and Ensuite. A central hallway runs along the length with the rough boards on the bedroom side contrasting with white full height joinery on the other side. The master bedroom at the end commands views over the valley, with timber detailing in the flooring and joinery. The master Ensuite and bathroom contrast with a continuation of the black theme used in the kitchen.
To the South of the main house is a studio that again uses the language and materiality of the old shed that stood on the site. The exterior is clad with rusty galvanised iron, contrasted with black detailing in the flashings and windows. The interior is finished in limed plywood on the walls and ceiling with a burnished concrete floor. The kitchen is detailed with contrasting black cupboards. The bathroom pod is accessed past storage cupboards. The bathroom is lined in simple galvanised ripple iron that follows the curves of the exterior walls.
The space is used as a retreat from the main house and for visitors to the farm.
Builder: JW & WM Woodbridge Building Pty Ltd.
We are excited to be working on this house located in Paynesville on the canals. As part of our service to our clients, we try to give them give a good idea of what the final product will be. We have been using some new visualisation software and have produced this video as well as some still images. It can help give a better understanding of the volumes as well as the feel of the design.
Wonthaggi Community Health
"The project included the complete refurbishment of the existing 1980’s brick building on the site and the inclusion of a new office pod”
Client Name: Latrobe Regional Health
Area: 740m²
Builder: TS Constructions
The project is for a new Community Health building located in Wonthaggi and operated by Latrobe Regional Health. The service had previously been located at Wonthaggi hospital in old building stock. The new project provided the opportunity to re-use the existing building on site and to create a modern facility for the service. The existing building has had many uses in the past, including its last life as a tech school. Slap Architects assessed the project and determined that the existing building was sufficient to be reused, saving the client some construction costs as well, as reducing the environmental footprint. The fitout includes several consulting rooms and treatment rooms in the existing building and the addition of a “pod” at the rear to house office staff. The consulting rooms provide high acoustic privacy. The pod uses the language of the existing 1980’s mansard roof canopy at the front of the building. Both the pod and the canopy were clad in raised seem roofing material.
The interior uses warm tones and materials to provide a less formal and less clinical feel to the user experience.
Nagle College Salesian Technology Precinct Walkthrough
"The New Operating Theatre provides the hospital with a new facility to service the community. With and state of the art equipment and design standards”
Client Name: Central Gippsland Health Service - Sale
Area: 250m²
Builder: CAD Build – (Formerly CM & HM Banks)
As part of ongoing capital works at the hospital is the provision of a new operating theatre and associated support areas. The facility is located on the roof space of the existing building designed in 1972 by the Architect – the late Stuart Ashton who was responsible for many of the buildings in Gippsland since the 1950’s. The design‘s intention is to complement the existing building forms and uses the language of the long slot windows and metal façade and reinterprets them. A custom made folded metal façade sites atop the existing brickwork, broken by the negative space of the slot windows. The façade changes appearance during the day with the varying shadows and light.