Casa Di Campo / Neil Architecture

Architects: Neil Architecture
Photographs: Tom Blachford
City: Werribee South
Country: Australia

Casa di Campo, a courtyard home by Neil Architecture in Werribee South near Melbourne, is enveloped by a four-meter-high rammed-earth wall, designed to balance work and home life for the client, who owns and farms the surrounding land. The home presents a rough, gray exterior that contrasts with a more open interior focused around a central courtyard and three smaller gardens. These spaces promote cross-ventilation and offer seasonal flexibility. The main courtyard, equipped with a pool and a shaded colonnade, serves as a core area. Inside, natural and recycled materials add texture and warmth, with exposed rammed earth walls, wooden paneling, and marble countertops to create a sanctuary-like feel.

Neil Architecture has enclosed Casa di Campo, a courtyard home in Australia, within a four-meter-high rammed-earth wall. Situated near Melbourne in Werribee South, Casa di Campo is surrounded by an expansive farmland, which is both owned and actively farmed by the client.

Neil Architecture was tasked with achieving a balance between work and home life for the client, integrating these two realms in a cohesive design. They responded by designing Casa di Campo with a rough, gray exterior that faces outward, while internally the layout opens around a central courtyard and several smaller gardens. Neil Architecture approached the project with the goal of creating a harmonious balance between work and home life within a rural setting. According to the studio, integrating a sense of protection was essential to establishing a positive and comfortable refuge that would allow residents to feel safe and secure amidst the agricultural activities surrounding the home.

The studio describes the house as a haven within the client’s farmland, offering secure and enjoyable spaces for residents in a location removed from urban activity. At the northern end of the site, a large courtyard featuring a swimming pool is divided into seasonal zones, bordered by a verandah supported by substantial white timber columns.

To the west, a series of guest bedrooms and a snug open onto the verandah, separated from the home’s exterior wall by a corridor with windows that frame views of the adjacent farmland. On the south side, a spacious living, dining, and kitchen area, along with the main bedroom, faces the courtyard, accessible through sliding glass doors.

Three small gardens divide the southern portion of the home, working with the central courtyard to enable cross-ventilation throughout the interiors while layering views across the living spaces, gardens, and surrounding farmland. Neil Architecture explained that the courtyard is divided into smaller areas designed for use throughout the year. Key features include a pool for summer activities, an outdoor kitchen and lounge that can be enclosed, a shaded colonnade, and a central lawn area. The exterior’s solid boundary wall is punctuated by openings that provide access to the home and garage, with wooden slatted sections that allow natural light into the gardens, alongside narrow windows. Inside, the rammed earth walls are exposed in select areas, crafted from recycled materials with a central insulation layer. This textured surface contrasts with the wooden paneling, marble countertops, and a tiled fireplace in the living room, all chosen to create a sanctuary-like ambiance for residents.