This house is about the idea of the organic evolution of the “Straddie Shack” in a contemporary vernacular, consisting of a series of distinct pavilions around an east facing courtyard. The form of the house is eclectic with materials and colours deliberately playful. This is not a “one big idea” house but is “plural” instead. The courtyard breaks down the scale of the house and opens the spaces up to the easterly breezes, draws in the sun and creates a private sanctuary from the public walkway adjacent. The use of hardwoods, greying cedar, fibre cement and playful colour all reference the local vernacular in a contemporary fashion.
The house is a series of pavilions in the landscape and tries to break down any sense of a suburban delineation of public and private. The house is setback from the public realm and is landscaped so that in time the boundary will be completely blurred, offering a dense, green edge to the public. Equally, the absence of any fence or even driveway makes the house appear to recess into the bush with its only access across the sand and under the tree canopy.
By virtue of the public edge to the site, we were conscious to try to integrate the house in the landscape and erode the predictable boundaries that usually define properties. To this end, the pavilions break down the perceived scale while the landscape offers a soft edge to the public face (also providing lighting and warmth to the otherwise dark, public walkway).
The guest, living areas, main bedroom and kids sleeping areas are all accommodated in self-contained pavilions, connected by a link (stair) that offers some additional multi-function areas. The indoor-outdoor circulation is between non-core areas only which make for an unexpected but practical outcome.
The structure is expressed, so the input from builder and engineer about the method of construction was critical. The integration of the landscape design was a key aspect of the design.
The house has been designed around ‘first principals”. While a few AC units were requested, the house is designed to be an open, cool and breezy house. Shutters allow the breeze to be controlled in core areas and a slow combustion stove provides economical heating in winter. Low-E glass, additional insulation and FSC timbers have been used to bolster the performance of the house.
The clients were very open to our ideas and wanted a fun house that worked for a big and varied family which was achieved with the pavilions. The functional considerations of a beach house have all been thoroughly considered. So far the feedback is that the house has exceeded expectation.