The Dune House In Australia
THE DUNE HOUSE
Wolveridge Architects
ARCHITECTS
Wolveridge Architects
PHOTOGRAPHS
Derek Swalwell
YEAR
2010
LOCATION
Australia
CATEGORY
Houses
Text description provided by architect.
The dune project is a further study of the fundamental relationship that a building can have with its landscape and broader context.
This core principle is an ongoing concern to our practice. The site, a flat allotment of 1600sq.m provided a framework for the program to explore. The dwelling is a series of interconnected pavilions.
Two linear forms (bedrooms/garage) identical in dimension surround a central core (living/kitchen).
The forms themselves intend to express simplicity and are derived from a ‘plantation’ context with long, low rooflines and light in appearance.
The main living pavilion is characterized at the street by heavy timber framing, intended to support flourishing growth to restrict the hot western sun from the building.
There is a suggestion that this element is of the landscape and serves to project the two adjoining wings as the principle architectural elements for the dwelling.
It may be the connecting spaces that provide a greater richness of experience for the residents and their visitors.
In response to the brief the building program provides extensive accommodation, 4 dedicated bedrooms with a fifth option and a range of intimate and generous living spaces both internal and external which share different realms of the landscape. All rooms open externally and can be reached under the cover of roof.
They are characterized by large openings and a conscious consideration for cross-ventilation, reducing the reliance on airconditioning.
Water is an element that is integral to this project. Here it is used as a connecting element and articulates the interface between buildings while providing a sense of reflection and recreational activity.
Upon arrival through an external front door, visitors are confronted with a water body and immediate connection to the dune thicket that exists beyond.
A sense of surprise at this junction, the pond becomes a pool with semi-submerged fencing adjacent to an off form concrete frame which itself serves to articulate this interface between the public and private realms within the dwelling.
The main living room is a spacious volume which overlooks water on two sides with a view across it to a large, expansive landscape and dune corridor beyond. A smaller, intimate lawn area to the immediate north connects the living and private study area to the landscape.
It provides a place for the bare foot to touch earth, an important activity in the context of the house and landscape connection. Structure is elemental which is intended to be both economical and convey a sense of articulation in form.
Polished concrete floor slabs, external connecting spaces clad using hardwood decks, walls are corefilled masonry rendered inside and out with black japan stained timber cladding forming the connection between roof and walls.
Wall planes extend and promote the linear nature of the floor plan and provide privacy to master bedroom courtyards. Colourbond roofs are either scissor or conventional trusses.
The project, constructed during a difficult economical period has been the major construction in the village during this past year and helped a great deal of local trades.
