ELIZABETH MORGAN HOUSE

Yarra Bend is a landscape of fragile and resilient dualities, where volcanic plains meet soft sedimentary rock. Confidentially located in the area, Elizabeth Morgan House (EMH) provides holistic family violence support to Aboriginal women and their children.

SBLA Studio first focused its attention on welcoming EMH’s clients to the property, offering a connection to Country through materials (basalt, limestone and bluestone) and a “grounding nook” in which to rest, recompose and reflect before entering the house.

EMH considers part of its mission as “walking with” the women who use its services, through their individual hardships, to wherever, or whatever, it is they need to reach. A pathway of donated brick paving arcs around the house’s northern border, leading through a therapeutic garden of memory-inducing species – medicinal endemic plants including kangaroo grasses and sensorial stimulators including blooming jasmine. As the path continues women can step into a reflexology stream of gently-massaging, underfoot rocks and feel the cleansing sensation of running water.

Design Team Kate McCracken | Georgia Aldous | Simone Bliss

Photos by Michael Zito