Client Brief

Clients were moving from Melbourne to their dream block on an escarpment offering magnificent ocean views. They presented a difficult block with a six metre fall over the building envelope and a limited budget of $200,000 for their dream home. The main criteria was to capture the spectacular views from every room. They required a compact home with one luxury master suite and a room for guests. The brief was clean, stylish lines with open plan in an uncomplicated form of construction, as they intended owner building. They loved cooking and entertaining and had quite a few unique pieces of furniture, not the least of which was their artwork which they wanted to display, always a challenge in open plan.

Client Solution

In order to reduce the building costs a single level following the contours was a must in lightweight construction. Levels were closely worked with driveway access, turning circles, entry points and car accommodation the first to be resolved. Single room width to a maximum of 5.5m reduced the slope over the actual home to 2m. The feeling of volume created when viewing straight out to the ocean upon entering gives the illusion of a much larger home. The definition of internal and external spaces blurs into insignificance as windows, doors and views invite the outside in. Residents and guests areas are totally separate, a gallery has been created for artwork, the TV slips into the wall and drying deck on the western side all contribute to expanding the magnificent vista.