Pacific House
Located just a short walk from Sunshine Beach, this home is designed for a young family with two children who fully embrace the coastal lifestyle. The brief was to accommodate the evolving needs of a family beach house while thoughtfully responding to stringent town planning parameters. Additionally, there was a strong desire for the home to passively regulate internal temperatures.
The house is arranged around a central courtyard, allowing natural light and ventilation to penetrate deep into the space. The ground floor is oriented inward to create privacy in this urban setting, with high-level glazing on the boundary elevations to further emphasize this approach.
At the heart of the home is a double height living room with a sunken lounge, which embodies the qualities of both indoor and outdoor spaces and offers flexibility in functionality. Full-height glazing opens to the courtyard on one side and to the outdoor dining area and backyard on the other, blurring the lines between inside and out. A freeform natural stone wall accentuates these qualities, extending beyond the room in both directions.
The upper floor is divided into two wings at the stairs: one dedicated to the children and the other housing an expansive master suite with ocean views. The material palette is a careful mix of bold, solid elements offset by lighter, warmer materials, including burnished concrete floors, expressed off-form concrete, whitewashed oak timbers, integrated soft furnishings, and freeform natural stone. The harsh coastal environment and the desire for low maintenance significantly influenced material selections.
The aesthetic of the home leans toward modernist architectural principles, featuring clean lines, self-finishing materials, and abundant glazing. This is thoughtfully balanced with existing trees and complemented by the planting of additional native species.
Photography by Andy Macpherson
