Residential ArchitectureHousesSandy Point House / Kennedy Nolan

Sandy Point House / Kennedy Nolan

Sandy Point House / Kennedy Nolan

Project: Sandy Point House
Architects: Kennedy Nolan
Builder: Gene Laity Builders
Location: Sandy Point, Australia
Year: 2019
Photos: Derek Swalwell
Text by Kennedy Nolan
Sandy Point House is also shortlisted for the IDEA 2019 Colour category.

Perched on the coastal dunes of eastern Victoria, this is a holiday house for a family who have a long association with the modest beachside hamlet of Sandy Point. Almost three hours from Melbourne, this house is designed not so much for weekends as for extended stays – in both summer and winter. The house is principally built from timber suitable to its bushfire prone setting, ultimately designed to grey off and be camouflaged in its indigenous planted setting. The underlying aspiration of the design is to make a house which reflects and amplifies a genuine connection to place which has evolved over generations of family holidays.

Sandy Point House / Kennedy Nolan

We approached the design with a sort of instinctive parametric taking into account these considerations. A shaping of plan, form and materiality based on the unique characteristics of the site and an interpretation of family traditions of beachside habitation. Underlying this understanding, we also sought to imagine an idealised coastal experience.

Sandy Point House / Kennedy Nolan

This is a pinwheel house arranged around a protected inner courtyard – a refuge from the prevailing winds and weather. The courtyard is like a cloister in that it provides a protected external connection between the four separate zones. There are no internal connections, one must go outside to move between the zones.

kitchen / Kennedy Nolan

There is a sensual experience of place as you move from room to room; a view of stars, a burst of cold air, the sound of the ocean crashing. And because the rooms that spin off the courtyard are arranged to reflect the terrain of the steep site, moving through the house you are reminded of the ground beneath your feet as you ascend or descend between rooms.

Sandy Point House / Kennedy Nolan

The courtyard arrangement promotes a sensory awareness of place but it also supports a nuanced social experience in much the same way a cloister traditionally works. It offers seclusion in the separate zones but then facilitates encounters in a neutral common space – either in an organised or a chance way. Because holiday houses often accommodate visitors, this arrangement makes it an easy place to both be a guest and to host a guest.

dining room / Kennedy Nolan

This is a place deeply embedded in its landscape, derived from memories of family holidays past and somewhere new memories can be nurtured.

plan

Sandy Point House / Kennedy Nolan

fireplace / Kennedy Nolan

living room / Kennedy Nolan

Sandy Point House / Kennedy Nolan

Sandy Point House / Kennedy Nolan

terrace / Kennedy Nolan

Sandy Point House / Kennedy Nolan

Sandy Point House / Kennedy Nolan

Sandy Point House / Kennedy Nolan

Subscribe to our newsletter

Belle Epoque Residence by DreamDesign

Belle Epoque Residence is a luxurious home designed by Ukrainian studio DreamDesign. This interior is simply like no other, we never have been or will...

R Toddler Bed by Rafa Kids – Modern, Playful and Functional Toddler Bed

During the growth of our children, we have to pay attention to many things; one of them being the bed. Designers Agata & Arek...

A Place of Elegant Comfort / Gao Architects

We designed the apartment with a special sense of love for the family living in it – it was their openness, hospitality and unwavering trust that gave meaning to this project and allowed us to create a space that is in tune with their desires.

St Kilda Californian Bungalow by MAKE Architecture

This house is a project MAKE Architecture, located in St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The house has a Californian bungalow style architecture,...

Twin Houses by Spasm Design Architects

The client wished to develop two homes on an acre each of land. The Twin Houses needed to be country homes for Bombay families to get away from the urban rigmarole. The project needed to balance the money put up against profitability and a sense of capturing the essence of place.

Recommended Stories