Stacking Up To Create A View Of Western Port Bay
Sunset panoramic views are pretty much what make a stereotypical Australian beach residence, and this home in Western Port Bay is a fine example of what the Oceanic coastline has to offer. Located in the town of Somers, this semi-permanent residence is used by its home-owners as more than just a weekend stopover, and its easy to see why they spend more than just the Saturday and Sunday there.
Positioned essentially atop the beach, the views, access to the sea and fine weather is there for all their family to appreciate. Although Somers is just an hour's drive from Melbourne, the area is a relatively low volume holiday destination, and as such, this picture perfect neighbourhood is an ideal setting for such great homes.
A two-storey scheme to achieve a modest footprint and minimise the issues the land has with its topography, the majority of the home's gardens are untouched and maintain an informally landscaped garden that stretches all the way from the street to the beach's embankment. Via a subtle frontdoor, any of the home's visitors are welcomed into the house that sits on the garden's highest with immediate views out beyond. Sitting above the garden, the home makes the most of it's spectacular outlook.
Made from an arrangement of stacked boxes that individually extend beyond each other to create protected balconies and decks - think of a Jenga tower here - the home orientates itself toward the luscious sea and luxuriously-open glazing units allow for its full appreciation. The expansive windows are complemented greatly with substantial hardwood frames and flooring that are both used throughout the home; the white walls of the rooms allow for such a pure environment to live within. The materiality and colours of the home on the outside have been used to beautifully blend in with the natural vegetation that creeps right up to the sides of the building, as much as for practical reasons such as of protecting the luxury home from bush-fires (we're in Australia, remember).
The luxury of the home continues into its details, with the doors all pivoting framelessly and the skirting boards are all flush to the wall to give the room a more boxxy, open feeling. What really is there not to like about this home? Industrial yet homely, fashionably contemporary yet well-grounded to the family's needs, SATORI & SCOUT are certainly inspired by this home... Discover more about this project online at www.OpenStudio.com.au.
Photography credit : www.OpenStudio.com.au