Bundeena Beach House

Outdoor living spaces can be adjusted to the weather and the time of day.

The house is of modest dimensions (160sqm, 2 bedrooms + office) by today's standards, and a single car garage only has been provided. The site has no hard-paved areas. The driveway, built of sleepers laid directly into the sand is 100% porous. The site plan incorporates a vegetable garden and chook run, reducing resource consumption and waste by a small measure.

Other measures such as grid connected solar panels and a grey water treatment system have been planned, and may yet be implemented. There are also areas where we could have done better. Though recycled, and plantation timbers have been used extensively, the method of fixing many timber elements (gluing) means that they will be difficult to recycle in the future. Some natural protective coatings, such as tung oil, have been used. However, many of protective coatings used were of relatively high toxicity.

Working towards sustainability is complex. There is much yet to be learned.

The house is designed to be both strong and flexible - built of a composite steel/ timber frame, clad in rough sawn plywood and corrugated iron.

Structure, materials and construction

The choice of materials for the house was driven directly by a response to the fragile and sensitive site, and a desire to reduce the house's ecological footprint.

Lifting the overall structure off the ground, via steel posts driven into the dune, means that the building could be braced from the movements of the ocean swell and inclement weather, while at the same time allowing the dune to shift and flow freely beneath it.

On approach - a glimpse of the ocean can be seen beneath the living room.

Flexibility in the bracing and structure, achieved externally from composite steel and timber framing elements and a cladding of rough-sawn plywood and Custom Orb® Zincalume® steel, and internally from Miniorb® Zincalume® and rotary cut plywood lining makes the building responsive to the site conditions.

The choice of materials was considered in terms of lifecycle cost. It should be acknowledged that the client contributed to and supported the architects' endeavor by her encouragement (especially at the initial design stages) to incorporate sustainable design elements and techniques.

Credits

• Text by Sam Crawford
• Photographs by Brett Boardman

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