Architecture

A Rugged Coastal Home By Kennedy Nolan

We’ve waited a LONG time to share the latest projects by award-winning Melbourne architecture firm Kennedy Nolan. Last week we shared the incredible Kagan House… and today, we’re finally bringing you their coastal Sandy Point home! 

This rugged holiday house is located on the coastal dunes of eastern Victoria. The exterior is a far cry from the mid-century modern design we last featured, but showcases the same distinctly refined and colour-rich palette Kennedy Nolan is renowned for. 

Written
by
Amelia Barnes
Supports The Design Files

This holiday house is located in Sandy Point on the coastal dunes of eastern Victoria. Photo – Derek Swalwell.

Kennedy Nolan’s design responds directly to the project site, along with the many memories their clients have from decades of holidaying in the area. This fantastic wall colour is ‘Spores‘ by Dulux. Photo – Derek Swalwell.

The sheltered courtyard is the heart of the property as it provides the only way to move between each zone of the home. Wall colour is ‘Spores‘ by Dulux.  Photo – Derek Swalwell.

 

The use of warm timber panelling, slate tiles, and sage green walls throughout the interiors adds texture and depth to the space. Wall colour is ‘Spores‘ by Dulux. Photo – Derek Swalwell.

The owners also did not want a ‘flashy’ house, but one in keeping with the existing community of modest dwellings and dirt roads. Wall colour is ‘Spores‘ by Dulux. Photo – Derek Swalwell.

The use of warm timber panelling, slate tiles, and sage green walls throughout the interiors adds texture and depth to the space. Wall colour is ‘Spores‘ by Dulux. Photo – Derek Swalwell.

The owners also did not want a ‘flashy’ house, but one in keeping with the existing community of modest dwellings and dirt roads. Wall colour is ‘Spores‘ by Dulux. Photo – Derek Swalwell.

The house was imagined in the shape of a pinwheel, creating four separate zones around a protected inner courtyard. Photo – Derek Swalwell.

Moving throughout the zones via the courtyard provides a sensual experience. Wall colour is ‘Aloe Vera‘ by Dulux. Photo – Derek Swalwell.

This project was a finalist in the Dulux Colour Awards 2019, Residential Interior category. Wall colour is ‘Aloe Vera‘ by Dulux. Photo – Derek Swalwell.

The bathroom features the same consistent colour palette as the living spaces. Photo – Derek Swalwell.

Kennedy Nolan’s design responds directly to the project site, along with the client’s memories from decades of holidaying in the area. Wall colour is ‘Spores‘ by Dulux. Photo – Derek Swalwell.

 It was the client’s hope that the house reflect and amplify their genuine connection to the Sandy Point area. Wall colour is ‘Spores‘ by Dulux. Photo – Derek Swalwell.

Wall colour is ‘Aloe Vera‘ by Dulux. Photo – Derek Swalwell.

The exterior is mostly made up of timber suitable for the bushfire-prone setting. Photo – Derek Swalwell.

Writer
Amelia Barnes
2nd of September 2019

All good design is a product of its environment, but this is especially the case in the Sandy Point House. Kennedy Nolan’s design responds directly to the project site, along with the client’s many memories from decades of holidaying in the area. It was their aspiration for the house to reflect and amplify this genuine connection.

One of the biggest practical considerations of the project was to provide shelter from the often harsh weather conditions. ‘The weather is often bucolic, but is famously windy and can be wretched. The owners find beauty and a deep connection to all conditions,’ say the architects at Kennedy Nolan.

In response, this house was imagined in the shape of a pinwheel, creating four separate zones around a protected inner courtyard. This courtyard is the heart of the property, as it’s both the main entry point, directly accessible from almost every room, and provides the only way to move between each zone. The impact of this layout allows alone time to be easily facilitated (as is so often craved during family holidays!), while also encouraging outdoor socialising. Moving throughout the zones also provides a sensual experience, ranging from a view of stars, to a burst of cold air, and the sounds of the nearby ocean waves crashing.

The home is designed for extended year-round holidaying. The exterior is mostly made up of timber suitable for the bushfire-prone setting, while simultaneously helping the home camouflage into the Indigenous planted setting. The owners also did not want a ‘flashy’ house, but one in keeping with the existing community of modest dwellings and dirt roads. The use of warm timber panelling, slate tiles, and sage green walls (Dulux’s ‘Spores‘ and ‘Aloe Vera‘) in the home throughout the interiors adds texture and depth to the space, and earned this project a shortlist in the Dulux colour awards earlier this year! 

The architects say, ‘This is a place deeply embedded in its landscape, derived from memories of family holidays past, and somewhere new memories can be nurtured.’

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