BACH HOUSE
Beach House
Peregian Beach | QLD 2018
Winner of the 2019 Master Builders Award Individual Home >$950K
3 bed
1 Guest Self-contained
1 Office Self-contained
4.5 Bath
Bach House is a modern young beach house in Peregian Beach Queensland. Straddling a high steep dune on the edge of the Noosa National Park. The site offers vast view to the west stretching over the alluvial plan to Lake Weyba and Mt Ninderry.
The clients brief for the house was to create grassed flat spaces that spilled from the main living areas reminiscent of the Atlantic Hotel in Byron Bay. After discussing the difficulties with the client and whether this was the right block to achieve this on, we began sketching a floor plan that achieved the requested spaces with a coherent architectural form that structurally and tectonically utilised the site efficiently.
The layout of the house is to enable the separation of multiple functions of the house:
The Top Level is for the Private Bedrooms sitting above the home, with every bedroom given a view of the vast plain beyond through a deck or pop out window.
The Second Living level is the public space for entertaining and conducting a connected life with spaces connected to the created grassed area. This space contains the self-contained / Au pairs room which is afforded as much privacy as possible by being physically detached from the living space by the outdoor living space. This Living Space also contends with the interaction of the very busy main road to Noosa below – the David Low Way – the architectural response was to create a solid screening balustrade to ounce the sound and keep the outdoor space private. A small cut out in this screen was provided to allow views when the owners used the pool.
The Lower Level contains the Home Office / Airbnb and the garage. The main importance of home office is to energetically separate it from the house and the young family operations going on. This space is also given its own Bathroom and Deck to allow it to operate in a variety of modes. Client access is independent of the home.
Materials chosen for the house are to create a language conducive to the location on a Peregian Beach sand dune. The functions and tectonic layers of the house are expressed with a segmented Architecture language = The lower level is exposed Blockwork [made from sand] rising from the sand foundation. The ground living level is the grassed layer growing at ground level and the Bedroom level is clad in Spotted Gum to signify the dense dune trees which would have populated these secondary dunes. The Timber, like the coastal trees is also used as a protective buffer from wind and noise.
The Orientation of the home is primarily to follow and therefore inhibit the summer sun along its path. This also allows for allow the low northern winter sun in to warm the concrete slabs in the relatively short sunshine coast winter. This functional orientation inhibited the view to the western plain, and there was great effort put into keeping the connection to Noosa National Park while reducing heat gain. This was achieved by integrating long eaves and protected outdoor living spaces into the architecture
Upon completion the realised building achieves more than we and the clients set out to do. The space feels secure with a vast view to the plain beyond drawing your attention like a calm green/grey sea. The bedrooms are connected to but independent of the living level. The Home Office / Granny Flat is Separated and functional while allowing for the drama of the house above to be hinted at.
Once the Timber silvers off we look forward to seeing the House settle into the Peregian Beach Language.