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This project finds numerous innovative
solutions to a modest brief on a challenging
suburban block, turning constraints into
opportunities and opportunities into
unexpected delights.
The major achievement has been to provide
a sophisticated variety of experiences within
a compact linear plan, utilizing an inclined
roof plane to create intricate and overlapping
sections, whilst delicately amplifying the
sensory experiences throughout the home.
The building’s footprint is elongated to the
edge of a busy motorway and forms a buffer
to its gardens facing the quieter suburban
street. Internally, a semi-outdoor room has
been carved from the building’s simple form,
creating a lofty double height space that links
each of the bedrooms whilst providing soft
natural light and gentle stack ventilation along
the length of the structure.
The material palette is modest and physical,
with textural fibre cement cladding and
strandboard panels combined to create a
series of thought provoking spaces that enrich
the domestic experience – and become a
tactile and poignant reminder of the simple
pleasures of life.
Photo: James Hung
Ocean Shores House
A-CH (Atelier Chen Hung)
This project is an inventive and versatile
response to the design of a large rural retreat
required to accommodate groups ranging
from a small individual family of two, to up
to 30 visitors, for short term stays. On an
exposed treeless spur overlooking the ocean,
the house has been positioned just below the
ridgeline, and terraced into the hillside.
The spatial arrangement around a central
courtyard allows the landscape to permeate
the building while providing protection
from the often harsh coastal conditions.
Programmatically, the separation into sleeping
and living pavilions manages the building’s
scale whilst highlighting the landscape in-
between the structures. The egalitarian
distribution of almost identical sleeping spaces
and the creation of a range of living zones and
conditions makes the house work at both full
capacity or with only a few occupants.
The house is a sophisticated exploration of the
courtyard form. It harnesses the experience
of an outstandingly beautiful site, offering
shelter and a variety of spatial experiences to
fundamentally enhance the well-being of
its occupants.
Photo: Michael Nicholson
The Farm
Fergus Scott Architects
COMMENDATION
Both the poetry of the rugged Snowy
Mountains landscape and the corrugated iron
shed are entrenched in our Australian cultural
identity. The Crackenback Stables re-interpret
the genre with a creative take on this robust
building typology.
The strength of the architecture lies in its
composition and detailing. The siting of the
two buildings as objects in the bush landscape
is particularly strong. The forms and detailing
of the buildings are very much a response to
the extreme exposure to snow, wind and fire.
The simple gesture of a ‘portal’ cut through
the main building to frame views has been
used to cleverly resolve and define its primary
practical functions. A reduced and robust
palate of materials dramatically contrast the
warmth of weathered steel to both elevate
and ground the silvery ‘corrugated shed’.
The building’s utilitarian function of a horses
stables is beautifully resolved and dominates
the owners’ and manager’s residential
accommodation, with the adjacent tractor
shed receiving the same elegant expression.
This architecture brings joy in its elevation
of the utilitarian to become refined objects
that enhance the spectacular landscape they
occupy.
Photo: Rhys Holland
Crackenback Stables
Casey Brown Architecture
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