Project Description
Privately set behind a rustic swathe of crown bushland at the ocean beach end of St Johns Wood Road, this transitional contemporary beach barn is designed as a courtyard house encircled by native landscaping that responds to the natural elements and temporal conditions.
Located on a superb half-acre (1,990 sqm approx.) double-block in a tightly held coastal community edging the Mornington Peninsula National Park and Blairgowrie’s Bridgewater Bay. The tops of the sand-dunes that mark the edge of the National Park are visible from the expansive grounds that include a mix of native vegetation, grasses and clipped tea tree. Over the years the previous owner has cleared and re-vegetated the area with more than 80 native trees and shrubs. Our landscape design brings together the existing and new planting to invigorate sanctuary for pollinators and create biodiversity.
Each pavilion has its own function, living and dining is demarked as public activated zones that link to the summer and winter gardens. Accommodation is separated into two wings, visiting guests and children and a separate master pavilion for quiet rest and relaxation. Each pavilion is joined by a breezeway, a space to reset and breathe, connected to nature though a framed vignette. The sun was carefully mapped across this site to allow for captured sunlight and shadows, shade and respite from the harsh Australian summer. A place to sit and bask in the golden hour, perched on a window seat. A family gathered around an outdoor alfresco dining table shaded by ornamental grapes.
A family vacation home that will eventually be a forever home.
