A speculative beach house for friends in Philip Island, this house is accommodates two families with separate living quarters and a shared central zone. Inspired by Glenn Murcutt, the building materials are simple and robust, reflecting the local ‘shed’ vernacular.
Aireys Inlet is a small coastal village known and loved for its quiet casual nature, a counterpoint to the higher density development creeping along the coastline from Torquay. For this house we were fortunate enough to have a site high on the cliff line with spectacular views to the famous Aireys Lighthouse, Eagle Rock, Lorne and the ocean beyond.
The house is essentially three levels, although both ground and first floor are split at key moments to take advantage of views and connect back to the landscape. There are three bedrooms at ground level, with the master bedroom, living and kitchen on the first floor and a basement with a-three car garage, workshop and wine cellar.
Central to the concept are ideas of fluidity and exploration. Between the site and the high cliff drop to the ocean are simple sand and gravel tracks, a rarity along the great ocean road. Cliff line trails rise and fall, bend and disperse like capillaries, on occasion opening up to expose exquisite hidden beaches. Our aim in this house was to emulate this fluid and permeable environment. There is no front or back, and the house is entered from various levels. The landscape undulates and continues around the house. Every turn leads to new and often surprising spaces within and around the house.
While at ground level there is a sense of embededness and continuity, the main structure of the house is perched high on the site. The wedge form barricades the building and garden from violent winds from the south, while framing views to the ocean and across the hills to Lorne in the distance.
Inside the rooms are filled with natural light. The warm, natural red Ironbark cladding is continued over internal walls. Material finishes are robust and allowed to weather naturally. Every room feels informal and inviting, as a beach house should be.
Shortlisted
2015 Houses Awards New Houses over 200m2 – Aireys House
Overlooking Balmoral Beach, Sydney, this new home is built with highly textured concrete walls. inspired by the work of Artist Isamu Noguchi, the house is sculptural in nature with its projecting volumes shifting and kinking down the site to form a continuous loop. This unconventional approach goes against the grain of terraced hillside Sydney houses. The dynamic forms engage with the street and optimize the grand views to the water while maintaining a beautiful private landscaped courtyard in the heart of the site.
Winner
2015 Australian Institute of Architects National Residential Architecture Award (New) Balmoral Beach House (Project in Collaboration with Clinton Murray Architects and Polly Harbison Architects)
Winner
2015 Australian Institute of Architects NSW Residential Architecture Award (New) Balmoral Beach House (Project in Collaboration with Clinton Murray Architects and Polly Harbison Architects)
Winner
2015 Mosman Design Awards Contribution to the Built Environment – Balmoral Beach House (Project in Collaboration with Clinton Murray Architects and Polly Harbison Architects)
Shortlisted
2015 Houses Awards New Houses over 200m2 – Balmoral Beach House (Project in Collaboration with Clinton Murray Architects and Polly Harbison Architects)
Internationally renowned for its exceptional wine list and constantly evolving degustation menu, the Royal Mail Hotel is an icon of the Western District. Byrne Architects were commissioned in 2015 to develop a masterplan for the hotel complex. The new fine dining restaurant is the first stage to be completed.
Dining at the Royal Mail is an immersive experience. Our design focuses on the guests’ engagement with three defining elements – food, wine and place. Sitting in the dining room guests are literally immersed in these elements. Sheer glass walls expose the intricate workings of the kitchen to one side of the dining room, while a climate controlled cellar pierces through the space near the entry, housing over seven hundred bottles of rare wine. The northern façade opens to a spectacular view of the Grampian’s mountain range. These sensory connections transcend the experience beyond dining, re-defining our understanding of luxury.
Shortlisted
2018 Interior Design Awards, Hospitality Design – Wickens
The Pavilion sits on the crest of the site’s natural Amphitheatre, a generous glass wall providing spectacular views across the bush to the east. Outwardly the building blends in to the surrounding environment. Within, the performance hall is a finely tuned acoustic environment, integrating cutting edge AV technology for hosting various cultural events.
Sensitivity to the beauty and unique qualities of the site was essential to our design process. The buildings scale, locality, and sculpting of the earth around the building were carefully considered to create a sense of blending. The Pavilion nestles in to the landscape, its roofline matching the ridge of a berm that sweeps around the service road to the west.
The Forsyth family have lived in their home on George Street for many years. The original structure is circa 1914 Arts and Craft Revival architecture, however a bed 80’s extension to the rear contained the living space. Our brief was to restore the original building, and re-imagine a new structure to contain living, kitchen, bedrooms, garage, loft and terrace spaces.
It was never our intention to design something ‘new’ or ‘different’, we wanted to respect the scale and material character of the original structure. Externally the house is enclosed by charcoal ceramic shingles, which are hand made and fired in the same traditional method used in brick production. The walls and windows are detailed to create the sense that the internal spaces are carved out of a solid block of stone. Against the original house, the new structure appears ancient and elemental.
Wensleydale is a remote rural property off the Surf Coast of Victoria. This building is the first stage in realizing the dream of its owners to create a serene retreat for their family, complete with vineyard’s, orchard and a collection of swimming holes. The property is also one of the most popular and profitable holiday rentals in Australia.
Our structure forms a gateway. As guests enter from the road, rows of trees obscure views across the property. The track winds around on axis to a deep valley cut through the land. The structure is perched on top of a hill, and the roofline between the two building volumes carefully frames this spectacular view across the valley to the mountains beyond.
The interiors are rich and textured. Walls, floors and ceilings are all build from timber of varying species and profile, varying levels of saw-cut. The atmosphere inside is warm and light, recognizable as a country home, yet with a strong sense that it is a piece of modern design embedded in the landscape.
A beach house for a small family. Our design approach was to conduct a simple study of geometry. A series of cubic volumes form the building, and are broken down on the façade in to triangles by alternating glass and solid timber walls.
Internally, the resulting spaces are often surprising, particularly in the living space, the only room where the full height of a ‘cube’ is revealed. Here sunlight filters through the triangular windows, casting beautiful geometric shadows on the timber floor.
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3/119 Ocean Beach Road
Sorrento Vic 3943
Route du Pas-de-l’Echelle 51,
1255 Veyrier, Geneva
Switzerland
