Burnt Earth Beach House | Wardle

Burnt Earth Beach House is a multi–generational home that utilizes terracotta in two primary forms – through the exterior brickwork, internally to line walls, floors and joinery elements. The dwelling is a haven both functionally and aesthetically, providing connection for its inhabitants to the landscape and to each other. The materials imbue the home with a sense of place further embedding the home in its context.

The broadly cruciform plan describes view lines and daylight ingress precisely. Views are to the Southern Ocean and surrounding landscape. The governing lines of the plan mark the centre point of the ‘X’ as the island kitchen bench – literally and figuratively the heart of this home. Spotted gum timber is used carefully in varying formats – recycled (flooring), veneer (joinery) and sparingly as solid (windows and revealed structure in areas). Across two levels a variety of spaces come together for sociability and solitude.

Blok Belongil | Blok Modular with Vokes and Peters

Blok Belongil is a new beach house produced in collaboration between Blok Modular and Vokes and Peters, exploring the adaptability and sustainability of volumetric modular building procurement.

Our client purchased a triangular shaped site, located between a public beach car park, a train line, and a busy neighbourhood feeder road, but blessed with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, the hinterland mountains, and Point Byron.

The house is conceived as a communal building (reception vestibule, lobby lounge, restaurant, private garden, guest suites etc) for our clients, their young adult children, and visitors to share time together. The house is small but spatially and experientially generous.

Modular procurement not only meets the local planning objectives (the house has to be removable in the event of rising sea levels) but building in a factory helps minimise the level of disruption (often toxic) to the local ecology of the building site and locale.

27 Rule Street | Officer Woods Architects

27 Rule Street is conceived as a place connected to ground, street, garden and longer views, unusually public with carefully considered privacy. An upside-down house on a sloping site, the split level presents a modest street presentation and offers the public glimpses right through the house of the spectacular outlook afforded by its location and elevation.

Providing spatial equity between house and garden, and ample deep soil areas through a compact footprint, it demonstrates that exploiting the natural topography of the site allows for sweeping vistas to be enjoyed while respecting streetscape and not compromising privacy of adjoining properties.

Pokolbin House | Matthew Woodward Architecture

Across a natural ridge over a slope of heritage vineyards, lies a sequenced ternary of interconnected pavilions. Here, the pragmatic demands of a working estate in one of Australia’s most established wine regions are combined with the refined easiness of a Sydney family’s country retreat.

The house is arranged with poetic rationality and is unified by a series of open-air connections.

The restrained material palette of stone and whiteness accompanies both the spatial and formal purity of the home. The choreography of circulation incorporates sky, ground and views with cantilevered overhangs that provide functional protection from harsh Australian conditions.

There is a considered balance of openness and privacy for family and friends and a mindfulness of surrounding nature in one of Australia’s most celebrated wine destinations.

Olive Tree House | Bastian Architecture

Olive Tree House is a new urban infill project, it has been designed to challenge the Australian norm of housing, it is half the size of an average Australian home, sits on a site half the size of an average site and provides flexible – rather than large spaces.

Situated within sight of Stockton beach and the Hunter river the house responds to the coastal location. Planned for the inevitable summer afternoons at the beach and winter afternoons on the deck the house is flexible and allows for parts of the house to be left open to catch the coastal breeze or connect to the winter sun. The mature Olive tree is retained to provide shade and habitat for the site.

It is a small house in which every metre works hard to provide quality living spaces.

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