Beach House at Edwards Point by Studio 101 Architects

We often become sentimental about our homes because houses hold memories of the good times we have spent there.  This is especially the case with holiday homes, where we spend happy, relaxed days far away from the stresses of everyday life, where children have grown up and long, summer days are spent by the water with loved ones and friends.  This sentimentality can become a problem when the existing home becomes too small, or when its time to renovate, with the claims of the past overriding the desire for change.  However, as Beach House @ Edwards Point proves, houses can be adapted and updated without destroying what made them so precious to begin with.

While the project began as a small kitchen and bathroom renovation, as the clients became aware of the multitude of possibilities for reworking the existing home a substantially larger brief was decided on. For the architects, this provided, “The opportunity to re-use, re- cycle and re-habitate an existing holiday home, maintaining the sentimentality of the existing form and materials, whilst providing a playful and exciting adaptation of the new programmatic requirements of a growing family."  In the end the changes involved reworking the ground floor planning, peeling back the existing roof, and grafting and floating a new upper level form. For sentimental reasons the clients wanted to retain the existing footprint, external walls and floor structure. Edwards Point, on the Bellarine Peninsula, is home to significant wetlands, and the design reflected the owners’ requirements of sustainable and sensitive materials that would reflect the coastal environment and the surrounding trees.

The clients had been holidaying at Edwards Point, on the Bellarine Peninsula, for many years. Now a family of six, and with frequent guests, the changes to the house mean that there is more space for children and friends, while importantly the integral feel of the house remains the same.

The architects describe, “Peeling back the existing roof and sensitively grafting and floating a new upper level form.” This has resulted in an elegant exterior that significantly adds to the house while, as far as possible, maintaining the existing masonry.  The spotted gum cladding conceals a steel frame that straddles the existing brick veneer. The timber has been left to weather naturally, so it will subtly reflect the house’s coastal surroundings.

The reprogramming of the interior provides new and reconceived spaces for the growing family. Within the house, a new central spine separates the living zone from the bedrooms, providing much needed new storage space. A new timber clad wet area vertically links the upper and lower floors, forming a mezzanine retreat for those who need a rest from the hurly burly of a family of six, as well as housing the pantry, powder room and ensuite. The upper level is the “parent’s zone,” a welcome space for retreat, privacy and quiet. The upper level’s glazing infill to the north and south welcomes light into the interior, and an outdoor deck on the south side of the building frames the views of the wetlands. The architects’ use of timber won a Timber Design Award for the VIC/TAS region residential class 1: Best Renovation.

The design maximises cross flow ventilation, the combination of operable systems includes glazed doors, louvre windows, internal pivot and sliding doors and windows, combined with argon gas filled double-glazing and fully insulated external walls, floors, and roofs as well as carefully considered solar orientation minimise the need for heating and cooling, resulting in an energy efficient home.

By incorporating the existing structure and reusing its materials, studio101 have adapted an already well loved home, providing elegant new spaces for the growing family while maintaining the sentimental attachment they have to the building. By recycling and reusing materials, as well as utilising energy efficient solutions, they have also produced a sustainable and sensitive home. The revamped beach house will be a joyful setting for family holidays for years to come. +

PHOTOGRAPHY

1.  SHADOWS AND TREES The wooden addition will age naturally, blending in with the surrounding trees.

2. THE NEW INTERNAL SPINE New storage space in soothing natural colours reconfigures the house's interior.

3. The new upper level form.

4. Large windows embrace the view.

5. The new wet area.