Guringai & coastal Dharug
NSW
Newcastle
An early project of Panov—Scott, designed in 2014, for immediate family and crafted with love over many years. The exigent project required great architectural economy, but allowed an engagement over time in which integration of landscape and built form could enrich the experience of the other.
The project called for three additional rooms and a new entrance stair, to an existing house by the beach for extended family and guests. The works are largely under the footprint of the existing house, so as to minimally impact the surrounding landscape.
Over the years these three small rooms in addition to the existing house have become emblematic for us of the act of doing very little. A low-resolution architecture that eschews virtuosic technical making but nonetheless enables heightened experience and facilitates an enduring connection with country.
Perched upon steep cascading rock shelves, this project inserts a carefully considered new wing beneath the existing home. The modest addition of three small rooms provides flexible accommodation for visiting family, while redefining the home’s entry and circulation.
The addition celebrates the site’s verticality through the resolution of the section that demonstrates a deep understanding of the site conditions. The plan is both simple and nuanced, connecting the home through all levels while navigating the constraints of the existing structure.
The facade is characterised by repetition and restraint, while generous windows offer a poetic counterpoint to focus and calm the view, framing reflections of the surrounding bush. Delight is celebrated in the small details and refined palette that speak to a craft developed over a considered body of work.
Window, window, window is a small yet masterful project that has transformed the existing building to enable space for multiple generations.
In a place we love, within the trees, with the Bay beyond and fringed by National Park, we wanted to adapt our two bedroom house to better accommodate family and guests, while retaining the qualities that originally drew us to the place.
I was client and builder, with a qualification in engineering and a lifetime of building experience to boot.
The build was challenging but rewarding. The design brief accomplished. The spaces perform well, cool in summer, with direct light in the windows in winter. The response to the project has been overwhelmingly positive, the grandkids love it.
The Australian Institute of Architects acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
