On Saturday 23 February the Australian Architecture Association (AAA) ran the first Residential Bus Tour of 2013. Clutching wet weather gear, participants of the booked out tour departed Customs House for a day sightseeing some of the architectural delights of the Central Coast.
The first house of the day was designed by the small practice of David Boyle Architect, who are based in Pretty Beach. The Kings Residence, located in Phegans Bay was completed in 2012.
The clients, a couple with one young child, bought the site with pre-existing structure left from a house that was lost in the 2006 New Years Day fires. The challenging steeply sloped site, dominated by large rocky outcrops of sandstone, enjoys 270 degree views of the twisting headlands surrounding Brisbane Water.
The house was designed to incorporate the concrete blockwork of the former garage and retaining walls of the existing pebblecrete pool. The new residence steps up the site as a pavilion flowing between a series of platforms.
Inside the residence these changes in level create intimate cosy spaces. The main entertaining space and the master bedroom, capitalise on the views and northerly daylight. To the rear of the house the second bedroom and adjoining play space view onto a rear deck. A large internal cavity sliding door between the play space and kitchen / dining space gives the flexibility to create privacy for their child or create one larger open area.
The clients were enthusiastic about their new home and spoke of the pleasurable experience of being heavily involved in the design and construction process. Touches of their creativity can be seen in the incorporation of elements, such as recycled railway sleepers that form steps between changes of level.
The residence's use of modest materials such as concrete block, unadorned cement panel cladding with hardwood battens, recycled timber flooring and hardwood fire resistant decking, testifies to a conscious desire to reduce building costs and accommodate the issue of bush fires, while giving the house a light weight presence that sympathetically hovers above the landscape.
House number two built in MacMasters Beach, was designed by the small architecture practice, Dianna Thomas Architect, who are also based in MacMasters Beach. This holiday residence was designed for a professional couple with teenaged children, looking for an escape from the hustle and bustle of Sydney.
Built of robust materials to withstand the punishing conditions of it's coastal location, the residence is split over two storeys with guest and childrens' rooms at ground level and the master bedroom, open plan kitchen/ dining/living space on the upper level.
In much of Dianna Thomas's work you can see the influence of Mid-Twentieth Century American modernism. In particular, the Case Study Houses sponsored by the publication Arts & Architecture, between the 1940's and 1960's. The MacMasters Beach House reflects their ideology in the use of prefabricated materials and simple functional arrangement of spaces to capitalise on the features of the site.
The interiors are given a sense of warmth through the inclusion of custom inbuilt timber cabinetry, that recalls the style of Mid-Twentieth Century Danish furniture design. This theme is continued in the clients selections of furnishings and lighting.
Large sliding doors across the northern face of the upper level open out onto a generous deck that wraps around the eastern face of the building to take in outstanding views across MacMasters Beach and it's environment.
Windows on the southern face of the building allow cross ventilating breezes to cool the residence and are protected by retracting fire shutters for bush fire protection.
The third house of the day was designed by the Neutral Bay, small practice Utz Sanby. Built in MacMasters Beach and completed in 2009, this residence was also designed as a holiday getaway for clients who wanted a large timber residence with plenty of space for entertaining guests.
Built on a long parcel of land on the top of the northern headland, the two storey house is pushed away from the road toward the end of the block facing directly onto the ocean. A separate street front garage provides privacy for a lap pool that adjoins a raised timber walkway leading to the houses entrance.
The double storey house is split visually into two pavilions, that separate the private areas, such as guest bedrooms and informal home office, from the more public functions of the house such as a Rumpus Room, at ground level and open plan kitchen / dining / living room above. The two functions of the house are joined together by a centralised circulation space.
The entry for the house opens onto a double height void, followed at ground level by an open tread timber stair and generous corridor with views through to the ocean. The delineation between public and private space is maintained through the clever use of timber cladding that is extended from the exterior face to wrap internally between the two pavilions.
With close adjoining neighbours on the north and south, the creation of privacy for the interiors was an important aspect of Utz Sanby's design. Rooms openings are orientated predominately to the east and west. On the eastern face large glazed timber sliding doors open onto decks that link the interiors to the exterior and ocean views. On the second level of the 'public' pavilion, the western facade of the house has a large roof overhang that protects an entertaining deck viewing onto the pool area to the west.
Internally, the exposed timber of the roof framing and polished timber floor boards add a sense of warmth to the open plan kitchen/dining/living space. The use of painted timber cladding on both the exteriors and interiors harkens back to the more traditional weatherboard cottages that still populate the central coast.
After viewing three homes, it was lunch time. Tour participants, along with some of the architects, adjourned to the Reef Restaurant at The Haven, in Terrigal. Over conversations about architecture and life in general, we enjoyed a somewhat rain obscured view of the turbulent ocean waters.
A break in the driving rain saw us arrive at our next destination, a luxurious residence in Terrigal by Jorge Hrdina Architects. Based in Cammeray, Jorge Hrdina cut his teeth in the industry working for one of Australia's celebrated Twentieth Century architects, Neville Gruzman. The influence of the organic architecture movement and the Sydney Regionalist style can be seen in Hrdina's work through his use of natural materials like stone and timber, exposed concrete and the way his houses are designed to react to the immediate landscape and climatic conditions.
Completed in 2008, the house was designed with two key priorities. Firstly to capitalise on outstanding views of the ocean and surrounding coastal landscape. Secondly to overcome the presence of adjoining homes to the property and provide open spaces with a sense of privacy.
The house is built over two levels on the sloping site. At the front facing onto the street, is the ground level double garage with stairs up to an exterior decked walkway to the house entry, offset midway down the southern length of the house. Directly above the garage sits the master bedrooms office/sitting space, followed by a generous walk in robe space which also accesses onto the master bedroom and its adjoining ensuite.
At the entrance to the house, the angle of the residence pivots to take advantage of easterly views, so that the house no longer runs parallel to the boundary. This aids in the creation of a protected open deck between the master bedroom/ensuite and the adjoining open plan kitchen/dining/living space.
Stacking sliding doors and windows open the kitchen and dining space onto the central courtyard and decking. Extensive frameless glazing encloses the sitting space and creates what Jorge Hrdina calls 'views within views'. A large skillion roof soars over this space and angles down to the north giving protection from the weather and covering a timber deck that leads onto a 19m cantilevered lap pool strung along the northern edge of the second storey.
A generously proportioned stairway with polished concrete floors leads down from the entrance space to lower level which contains guest rooms with equally impressive views to the ocean. The practical functions of the house like laundry, guest bathroom and access to the garage and rainwater tanks, are also located on this level. Tucked away to the side of the main guest room with sitting space, is a small enclosed deck with a large pivoting door that opens out to views of the ocean while screening the space from the neighbours.
The residence was recently sold to a Sydney based family, who are currently working with Jorge Hrdina on a permanent residence in Sydney. They use the residence as a coastal escape. It is also managed by Raine & Horne Terrigal - Avoca Beach (Phone: 02 4385 1000) as executive holiday rental. The 'Glass House' can be booked through CentralCoastHolidays.com.au.
As with all good things the day had to end some time. Our final house on the tour was a renovation of a holiday home in Wagstaff. Designed by the multi award winning architect Michael Dysart, this study in modesty and simplicity won the 2009 Australian Institute of Architects Small Projects category.
Michael Dysart is an important figure in the Australian architectural scene. He is usually classified as a part of the Sydney School or Sydney Regionalist movement, who worked from the 1950’s onwards and had a huge impact in particular on residential design. This year on Australia Day, Michael Dysart was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to architecture.
The house we visited is in fact Michael's family holiday home. Originally built in the 1950's, the very modest fibre cement clad home contained a main entry through the kitchen, leading into a living/dining space and two bedrooms that opened directly off the living room. The bathroom/laundry and toilet originally opened onto the side of the kitchen.
Despite loving the house, at sixty-five square metres the decision was reluctantly made to extend the residence in order to better accommodate Dysart's family. The new extension was deliberately designed to minimise the impact on the original features of the home. To preserve the memory of the original residence, Michael repeated the details of the houses style and materials in the new additions.
On the west a new main entrance and living room was added, that opens at the rear onto a deck that wraps across the northerly face of the building and views across the water. The original delightful 50's formica kitchen has been retained, along with the original living/dining that now acts as a small dining and sitting area. The existing two bedrooms were enlarged on the eastern edge of the house to accommodate a corridor to a new main bedroom and small ensuite, facing onto the original landscaping of the properties street front.
Painted cement cladding lines the exteriors of the new additions and the curved form enclosing the ensuite harkens back to the Modernist style homes of the Twentieth Century. A trellised verandah at the front of the house encompasses the trunk of an established gum tree and allows the kitchen to view up to it's canopy. In fact it was the desire to retain the gum tree that necessitated a hasty redesign of the new living room fireplace when it was discovered by the builder that the tree would need to be cut down if the fire place remained in it's intended position.
The Wagstaff house is a lovely testament to the fact that big doesn't necessarily mean better. It respects the historical heritage of seaside cottages while providing cosy, relaxed interiors with sufficient amenity to suit the needs of an extended family.
The Australian Architecture Association would like to thank tour participants for taking part in our tour, we hope you enjoyed the day. We would also like to thank the architects, for taking the time to explain their designs and in particular their clients who so graciously opened their doors to us.
- Article: Vanessa Couzens
- Photographs:
House 1
Tour Photographs: Vincent Lam and Vanessa Couzens
House 2
Tour Photographs: Vincent Lam and Vanessa Couzens
House 3
Tour Photographs: Vincent Lam and Vanessa Couzens
House 4
'Glass House' professional photographs: provided by client
Tour Photographs: Vincent Lam and Vanessa Couzens
House 5
Tour Photographs: Vincent Lam and Vanessa Couzens
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