Private
Great Ocean Road House
This is a renovation of an existing coastal house.
It was a merchant builder’s house of the 1970’s, a style that usually has good orientation, open spaces, excellent natural light and modular design.
The new extension builds on these notions, extending the modular construction to create a house that is contemporary without abandoning its history. The super-frame element exaggerates the modular and offers potential for a seemingly endless extension.
It has a variety of spaces that can suit two people for a weekend or, equally, two families for a week.
We chose its materiality to show the effects of the coastal environment over time: the external cladding is shiplap weatherboards of radial-sawn silvertop ash.
These were installed over the existing brickwork (on battens) and onto new timber studwork to provide a seamless link between the old and new sections of the house.
We reclaimed blackbutt timber floorboards from a wool store in Sydney and used them throughout the house as the main flooring.
These floorboards weren’t machined and the original checking, knots and nail holes are still visible. This new flooring has all the character and interest of the old floor while being a safe, reliable and functional surface.