Robert J Morton

Fantasy Home - The Patio Garden This is the spiritual and intellectual centre of my ideal home. It is a place of inspiration; a place to take cousel with friends; a place to contemplate and consider; a place of sanctuary and repose.

The central focus of this very special place is the 'counsel fire'. This is set in the middle of a 4½ metre diameter stone-paved circle which protects the rest of the house from catching fire. A fire extinguisher is mounted on an adjacent wall. The fire itself is set upon a round 500 mm diameter iron grate flush with the stone paving. Beneath the grate is a vertical cylindrical stainless steel ash pipe with an integral water jacket for extracting heat from the ash. Air is provided through two diametrically opposite tangential inlet pipes in the sides of the ash pipe just below the grate. These create a vortex of air just below the fire. They lead from inlet vents on the underside of the ellipsoidal envelope of the house. The ash pipe extends down to a trap door beneath the ellipsoid from which it can be emptied periodically. Fuel wood is stored beneath the eaves where the roof of the ellipsoid overhangs the patio area. A steel cooking tripod can be fitted to allow cooking pots to be hung over the fire. The tripod and cooking pots are stored in an adjacent wall recepticle when not in use.

Beyond the paved circle of the counsel fire is a lawn at two levels, filling in the space to the inside rim of the ellipsoid. The outer arc of the lawn (shown in lighter green) is 500 mm (chair height) above the lower lawn and the stone circles. There is a small elliptical pool in the middle of the upper lawn. This has a central stone inlet feature fed by rain water from the ellipsoidal roof. It is drained via a water fall into a larger semi-circular pool in the central cusp of the lower lawn. This lower pool is used as an artificial well from which the plants and flowers are watered by hand. The lower pool is drained through a central pipe to the large reflecting pool beneath the house.

The half-storey elevation of this idyllic sanctuary lifts us up to an an inspiring panorama across the northern quadrant. On each side of the patio garden is an outer door. The one on the kitchen garden side provides a vista, framed in the distance with sandstone rocks, looking out to a clear distant horizon on a calm open sea. Birds sing above the distant accompaniment of breaking spray. Through the door on the other side is an enchanted portal through which a footpath beckons into an infinite warm bright woodland furnished with a seasonal carpet of tiny wild flowers.

A pair of hammocks hang beneath the eaves above the low stacks of fuel wood set againt the right-hand wall. In this wall are doors to lockable storage containing garden tools, machines and power outlets. Adjacent is the door to the shelter and security of our inner dwelling. The flames of the counsel fire weave their erotic dance upon their stage of glowing embers. It all exudes a benign power that inspires the mind and soothes the soul. Here we can sit and contemplate. Here we philosophize endlessly about relationships, society, economics, life and the universe.