From The Architect: “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. 

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”

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.