Project: Cooinda House
Architecture: Counterpoint Architecture
Location: Nelly Bay, Magnetic Island, North Queensland, Australia
Year: 2019
Photo Credits: Matthew Gianoulis
AIA Awards
North Queensland House of the Year
North Queensland Regional Project of the Year
Queensland State Commendation
The Client has named this house “Cooinda” – an indigenous word meaning “a happy place”. It is an apt name for this contemporary beach house for a large and enthusiastic extended family on beautiful Magnetic Island off the coast of Townsville, North Queensland.
The large accommodation brief of the home has been distilled into a simple architectural form and materiality that sites well in the context of a Magnetic Island street. The key design move was to create a central, double height “outdoor room” around which all of the functions of the house are arranged. This space creates connections between all spaces, and also becomes a key social gathering space.
The greatest success of the scheme is the way in which it works just as well for a couple as it does for large family gatherings