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Situated at the eastern tip of Avalon’s incredibly lush Angophora Reserve in Australia, the Angophora House by renowned architect Richard Leplastrier — who worked with Sydney Opera House architect Jørn Utzon — is an unconventional residential paradise designed with the utmost craftsmanship and ancient woodworking techniques.
The project is constructed as a series of handcrafted timber pavilions — four bedrooms and two bathrooms — with each room connected to the other by an outdoor walkway comprised of floating decks and wooden steps. Tenants must step outside into nature to get from one room to the next.
Each pavilion is arranged in a flexible pattern, meaning the rooms can serve different functionalities as studios or bedrooms based on the preferences of the tenant. The kitchen, dining and living pavilion is the only definable room throughout the project. But even this space is a testament to the project’s emphasis on indoor and outdoor living. Here, the kitchen bench top extends into the window sill, and the stools are arranged outside the pavilion.
Since it was completed in 2006, Angophora House has been a focal point of study for students of architecture and carpentry. Students from all over Australia and Gifu University in Japan, a school specializing in woodworking, have visited the project to witness Leplastrier’s attention to detail and brilliant use of various timber types. The project has been called a “fine piece of cabinetry for humans.”
The design also showcases Leplastrier’s passion for boatbuilding and the influence of Japanese architecture in his work. Before starting his own practice in 1970, Leplastrier studied at Kyoto University and worked for Kenzo Tange in Tokyo. Throughout the house, there are no obvious signs of nails or screws. It is built almost entirely of timber. The internal walls are made of pale hoop pine plywood, while the external weatherboards are red mahogany. It also features salvaged jarrah, a species of the eucalyptus tree.
Just steps away from Avalon’s main shopping strip, the house is hidden from the street in the highly vegetated northern beachside suburb of Sydney. It is largely influenced by the grove of ancient trees that surround it. Careful to not disturb the local nature, the house was constructed to complement the land as well as become tied to it. The pavilions are situated to face each other, forming a compound around a central courtyard of trees.
One of the house’s most distinctive features is its three-story tower in the center of the construction, which rises into the treetops. It provides tranquil views of the ocean and the reserve, allowing tenants the opportunity to maximize their nature-immersed living experience.
Angophora House at 33 Bellevue Avenue in Avalon Beach, New South Wales, was on the market until recently sold.