MODERN HOUSE IN GLEN WAVERLEY
FOLD HOUSE

​Fold House is a contemporary family home in Glen Waverley, Melbourne, shaped by movement, material warmth and a close relationship between architecture, interiors, water and landscape.

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The house takes its name from the way its architecture unfolds. Curved walls, shifting rooflines, layered volumes and folded ceiling planes create a continuous sense of movement, with the same language extending into the interior through joinery, furniture and material transitions. Rather than revealing itself all at once, the home is experienced gradually — through framed views, changing light and a sequence of spaces that open into one another.

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From the street, grey-beige rammed earth walls anchor the house to the ground, while Beni Yakisugi charred timber cladding wraps the upper volumes in a darker, more refined skin. Softened corners allow these materials to continue around the building, reducing the visual scale of the form and reinforcing its flowing geometry.

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Natural crazy paving begins at the entrance and reappears around the elevated pool terrace and within selected bathroom areas, creating a material thread between exterior and interior. Around the pool, it is paired with muted olive concrete, rammed earth and dark Yakisugi, forming a subdued palette that allows stone, water, architecture and landscape to sit comfortably together.

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The pool itself is integrated into the architecture rather than treated as an element beyond it. The house folds around the terrace, creating an outdoor room that remains visually connected to the principal living spaces through expansive glazing. Reflected light from the water shifts across the interiors throughout the day, bringing movement and changing atmosphere into the home.

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Inside, the palette becomes warmer and more tactile. Chocolate walnut solid timber joinery extends through cabinetry, wall linings, shelving, built-in furniture and ceilings, blurring the distinction between furniture and architecture. It is balanced by creamy and sandy textured walls, muted olive tones and warm polished concrete with a burnished finish.

Brushed nickel tapware and metal accents provide a cooler, precise counterpoint to the richer natural materials without becoming visually dominant.

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The kitchen sits at the centre of family life, anchored by a sculpted island whose softened form echoes the larger geometry of the house. Walnut joinery, muted olive finishes, stainless-steel appliances and suspended shelving create a space that is highly functional but deliberately restrained.

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Throughout the home, rooms are defined through proportion, ceiling changes, joinery and light rather than excessive separation. Deep window seats frame the surrounding tree canopy, the upper lounge and library become quieter places for retreat, and a folded walnut ceiling draws natural light into the main bedroom from above.

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Behind these spaces is a substantial family program comprising four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a powder room, multiple office and study spaces, gym, kitchen and pantry, laundry, generous living areas and an elevated swimming pool, with basement parking for approximately four to five cars.

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Despite its scale, Fold House is designed around smaller experiences — the texture of rammed earth, stone beneath foot, a curved wall revealing water, light falling across walnut, or a framed view into the trees.

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The project reflects ENCLAVE's approach to contemporary residential architecture: allowing space, light, proportion and material to carry the design.

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A home that unfolds as you move through it.