Internally, off-form concrete has been juxtaposed with other materials and finishes, among them timber flooring and v-groove lining boards for the ceilings, to continue the external dialogue.
These internal concrete elements include an off-form feature wall in the living room, concrete heads, bands in the floor that extend past the window-line to the outside, and a stunning circular stairwell.
The addition of a skylight in the stairwell, cleverly placed around the perimeter of the ceiling, invites a wonderful and ever-changing play of light on the off-form concrete surface. At the top of the stairs, an opposing wall of glass frames an internal courtyard – a haven of privacy, light and natural greenery that counter-balances the hard-form materials. (The walls of this courtyard are a continuation of the interior off-form concrete walls.)
The courtyard also effectively defines the bedroom zones in the upper level – parent’s master on one side and three additional bedrooms (one converted to a yoga room) on the other. A second, smaller internal courtyard space has been created closer to the street-end, overlooked by a bathroom and the yoga room.This approach of creating purposeful, protected, light-filled voids has also been applied on the ground level.
The pool is located within yet another enclosed space, protected from sea breezes on one side and sounds of the urban street environment on the other. Back upstairs, the master bedroom adjoins a concrete-framed verandah overlooking the beach, with a judiciously placed cut-out in the concrete ceiling allowing light to flood the internal space.
The simplicity and balance of form of this home is most evident when looking up at it from the beach. It appears as one concrete block stacked on top of another.But this simplicity of form belies a thoughtful and carefully crafted design and execution, one that will no doubt stand the test of time and deliver a wonderful living experience for its lucky occupants.