Beach House at Point Lonsdale by studio101

Ignoring the packaged houses that pop up in most Australian suburbs, coastal residences display two different responses to the beautiful yet often severe environment. One response celebrates the earth’s ethereal qualities, building from the land and treading on it carefully with wooden huts and tin shacks. The other celebrates the riches of the wealthy and their double glazed weekend views of the ocean. This isn’t quite the case for studio101’s beach house at Point Lonsdale, Victoria, where the comfortably solid home celebrates the duality of the Australian lifestyle: a mash up of our ‘laid-back’ nature and our inevitably busy working lives. 

The beach house is a careful composition of robust yet elegantly executed materials that effortlessly respond to the client’s brief. The clients – a young family – wanted a home that would capture the best of its surroundings by harnessing the warm northern sun, cool sea breezes and beautiful coastal views.With the damaging effects of the coastal environment in mind, the clients also needed a home that would be durable, easy to maintain and ultimately completed under a modest budget. This wish – for beauty, brains and a little bit of brawn – was granted. 

The beach house’s refined attention to material and composition is undoubtedly a reflection of the beauty and practicality of the mid-century Scandinavian architecture that inspired it. This is most evident in the way the house treats its abundantly vegetated and steeply falling site. From the bottom of the slope views are dominated by tree trunks and shrubbery while its peak rises above thick canopies. The house’s massing strategically responds to this by sitting within and on top of the site to achieve spectacular views and structural stability. With two levels (the bottom much smaller than the top), a part of the house snuggles into the earth while the other stretches to the sloping site’s peak. 

The well kept secret behind the house’s seamless spaces and cantilevering folding planes is its predominately steel framed structure.With the steel carefully hidden beneath both the timber and masonry, spaces appear continuous and light. However, there are still elements of the structure and construction expressed through the building’s form. From the bottom level heavy masonry anchors the house to the earth, while light timber planes glide above to frame views of the soft landscape. The materials express and underline a logic that appears beautiful. 

This minimal and economical selection of materials compliment studio101’s organisation of spaces to provide maximum thermal comfort and a visually stimulating language of folding planes and intersecting masses. The upper level’s folding timber elements divide the house into three zones which separate private from communal living. A primary living space sits in the west part of the building while facing north with a courtyard and family room behind it, while a series of bathing and sleeping spaces sit in the east. This division of zones works beyond the program and circulation of the house by encouraging communal and family living. In this way, the young family is brought together in an open environment as they eat, study, relax and entertain. 

The zones are threaded together by a central spine that begins and ends the journey through the entire length of the house. From the front of the house a hovering timber staircase leads to a wide and welcoming mezzanine level entrance. The entrance leads to a basement level below and main living spaces above where the spine – part hallway and part breezeway – links the sleeping and bathing zones to the parallel primary living space. As both a source of thermal mass and a visual connection between the house’s horizontal and vertical spaces, the basement’s concrete masonry construction extends to the upper spine where it stretches through the house. This textural, structural and thermal addition maintains a sense of continuity through all levels and zones of the house to create a relaxing flow of spaces. 

As part of the brief, the clients also wanted indoor and outdoor usability integrated through the entire home to enrich the living spaces with views and experiences of the landscape. The spaces easily meld visually and compositionally as the natural hues of the minimally coloured interiors compliment the landscape. At the same time, expansive sliding doors and vast windows unite the primary living space with the courtyard deck and the family spaces behind it. This operability diversifies the spaces in both a practical and experiential way. When closed, the glass doors of the courtyard shower light into the living spaces and when opened the courtyard becomes a part of the entire living area. 

This dual approach to practicality and spatial quality extends to the primary living space where principles of passive heating and cooling are applied. The vast north-facing window maximises winter sun while the extruding timber roof and walls protect the interiors from the harsh summer sun. This, combined with the abutting courtyard space, ensures cross ventilation and maximum natural daylight is welcomed into all living spaces. 

While the bathing and sleeping zone of the house is less open in organisation than the primary living zone, the central spine welcomes light to all the rooms. Rhythmically placed openings from the primary living spaces welcome light through the hallway and into the rooms, where the mix of shiny and matte white walls appears warm, rather than clinical. Operability is another element of this zone, which adds versatility to the spaces.With vast sliding doors crossing over through the bathrooms and bedrooms, solid walls appear and disappear and private zones become communal. 

Many coastal homes highlight our tendency for weekend retreats, separating our busy Monday to Friday working lives from our down time. But the beach house at Point Lonsdale brings the two together so that the hustle and bustle of family life, working life and much needed relaxation are all united into one home. The house is a place to relax, but it’s also a permanent home that will bring comfort to its occupants beyond the weekend or summer holidays and into all seasons.+ 

PHOTOGRAPHY Trevor Mein

1. Thick concrete blockwork extends from the house's base and through to the upper living zone; tying the spaces together whilst grounding them into the sloped site. 2. Vast sliding doors easily connect the central courtyard with the main living space. 3. The elevated primary living space offers relaxing views above and beyond the surrounding vegetation. 4. The limited material palette focuses on the raw textural qualities of masonry and timber. 5. The angled primary living space is the first point of contact from the entrance mezzanine. Its large entrance welcomes visitors to the social core of the house, while the adjacent breezeway eases the eyes with a view straight to the backyard.