The horse is a noble beast, and as such has sometimes been treated to luxurious quarters, for example by architects as distinguished as Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Johann Fischer von Erlach. (Sometimes, but not always, as those who have seen the film Maîtresse, with its scene set in a horse abattoir, can attest.) Seth Stein and Watson Architecture + Design’s Equestrian Centre Merricks on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula is an impressive addition to this tradition, with its elegantly curved monopitch roof ‘supported’ by four elephantine pillars clad in the same corrugated metal. Beneath the roof is accommodation for six horses, and the rear wall is of monumental rammed earth. At the conclusion of this wall, a spout empties into a shallow pool, from which the horses can drink. The latter touch is a clear reference to Luis Barragán’s Cuadra San Cristóbal, the ultimate in Modernist stabling, but the palette here is far more restrained, the materials being allowed to express their intrinsic qualities.
Equestrian centre in melbourne, australia by seth stein architects and watson architecture+design drawings
This case study is part of Typology: Building for animals. Read the full article here
