Green Cage: A Unique Residential Residence

An Oasis of Nature in the Heart of the City

The concept of the Green Cage is to create a contained ideal of greening one's own backyard. Instead of having a secreted walled garden, the garden forms the walls and secludes the house and studio. The design is intended to sit proudly within furrowed earthen mounds covered in creeping ivy, undulating like frozen emerald waves, and surrounded by tall native grasses. It is a design that embraces the past, present, and future, existing as a familiar yet unfamiliar edifice in the urban landscape of Melbourne.

The Green Cage is constructed using a simple palette of materials. The structure is made of concrete and steel, with steel joinery and double glazing infills. The canopies above the doors are folded brass sheeting left to oxidize, and the walkways are made of expanded acid blackened steel tread grating. The exterior of the house is enclosed by a galvanized steel tubing with stainless steel link wire mesh. The bedroom chamber walls are highly insulated sandwich panels with wood fiber insulation. The garage structure is made of steel, with timber structure for the walkway and stair access to the deck. The roof is a mono-pitched structure using galvanized steel tube frame with a stretched fabric membrane that allows light transmittance. The deck's flooring is also made of expanded acid blackened steel grating.

The Green Cage is designed to interact with its surroundings in a unique way. The project is divided into three parts, each with its own purpose and public interface. The first part is the garage, which has been designed for visual porosity, allowing glimpses of what is contained within and beyond. Above the garage is a deck, covered by a mono-pitched membrane tent that allows filtered sunlight to the deck and the garage below. A raised grating walkway leads from the garage to the house, which is partly raised above the site by a sunken cellar. The house consists of four main components: the cage, the ground floor box, the bedroom chamber, and the cellar. The cage is a galvanized frame with link-wire dressing that allows overgrowth of vines and creepers. The ground floor box is fully glazed, giving a view of the site through the green slip of the cage. The bedroom chamber has solid outer walls with rhythmically placed slit windows and crystal glass shards that deflect sunlight into the internal spaces. The cellar serves as the foundation for the entire ensemble and is connected visually with the ground floor via an ocular skylight.

Continuing from the back of the house, a raised grated walkway leads to a sunken studio, purposed for pottery. This studio is fully dug into the landscape and is connected to the site by a sloping grassed ground and a strip glazed front that looks up and back to the house. The studio also features an ocular skylight that allows sunlight penetration and tracks the movement of the sun across the sky. The Green Cage is a harmonious combination of three parts, three functions, serving as one entity, and creating a unique and immersive experience of the greening of the physical and mental scape.

The Green Cage is a testament to the creative and technical challenges overcome by Jonathan A Gibb. The site chosen for the design presented difficulties due to its mixed zoning for high-intensity living and industry. However, the design successfully coped with these challenges and created a symbiotic relationship between the house and the landscape. The Green Cage is a true reflection of Melbourne's intimate lane-ways and narrow lots set within an industrialized area.

The Green Cage has received recognition for its exceptional design. It was awarded the Iron A' Design Award in 2012 in the Architecture, Building, and Structure Design category. This award is given to well-designed, practical, and innovative creations that meet professional and industrial requirements. The Green Cage is respected for its integration of industry best practices, competent technical characteristics, and contribution to a better world.