Hollow Tree House | Core Collective Architects

Hollow Tree House is an early 19th century Georgian Colonial homestead in the Central Highlands of Tasmania. The owners’ vision was to restore the house and stables back to their original fabric, with ‘new work to be distinctly modern but visually quiet and complimentary’. The owner, architect, builder and heritage consultant worked closely together, peeling back unsympathetic building additions and materials to discover the gems of the past. The interior was a time-capsule with early (c.1830) materials and features largely intact, including convict-sawn timber floorboards, fireplaces, timber window shutters, cedar joinery, and rendered plaster walls and ceilings. Skilled traditional tradespeople including stonemasons, plasterers, joiners and steelworkers, worked to rebuild parts of the original house as seamlessly as possible. New internal additions such as the kitchen cabinetry were designed to be modern and distinct from the original building elements, but with equal attention to detail, material and craftsmanship.