This Retro Rainforest Dream House is a Mid-Century Style Masterpiece

This is the kind of retro modernism you might expect to find in the Hollywood Hills. Far from it. The Planchonella House by Jesse Bennett is a new contemporary home in Australia’s tropical northern reaches. It’s a wild, wavy concrete home that is perched high above the rain forest floor. It is grand in design, but intimate in spirit — crafted in a way that brings the forest experience into every space within.

The Planchonella House stands on a sloping plot, lifted by tall supports for a high vantage point. Its shapely, waving concrete forms serve as both floor and ceiling, with glass walls that skirt the exterior. The home’s most curvy concrete section serves as an outdoor patio, a place for dining and relaxation with a stunning view of the forest.

Indoors, the grand glass walls create a sort of visual wallpaper out of the flora outside. Every part of the home has reminders of the Australian rain forest, from the slow-shifting trees in the windows and the way the light filters through and into the home.

The Planchonella House is a work of tropical modernism, but its roots are decidedly retro. From its shape to its material, the home has a mid-century appeal. Its interior design echoes this inspiration, creating a home that feels organic and lively from corner to corner. It’s a dream home for many, especially the client of Jesse Bennett who know calls the Planchonella House home. [photography: sean fennessy, hat tip: archdaily]

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