Buderim Escarpment House
Buderim Escarpment House is elevated 145m above sea level, sitting on an escarpment with spectacular views north northeast over the southern Sunshine Coast communities. The beautiful modernist inspired home is for a family transitioning imminently towards an empty nest.
A simple architectural device, conceived as a means to create intrigue and set a slow reveal on the processional route through the building to the expansive views at the back of site. A bold single stone wall reclaims part of the streetscape for a ‘garden wall’ to provide a front courtyard at the street edge of the house.
The entry courtyard, has a single aperture creating a special moment that intersects the public and private; interior and exterior spaces.
The plan is configured of dual wings consisting of public or living spaces to one side and private / dormitory space to the other. The two connected by a common sitting area, conceptualised as a garden room that opens to the entry courtyard to the south and north to the pool and beyond to the view. The rear elevation, in vast contrast to the private ‘street egde’, is open almost in its entirety, allowing expansive views of the coast.
The private wing includes the generous bedrooms, each with their own ensuite for privacy and a sense of holiday escapism at home. The H shaped plan ensures site lines throughout the house, constantly connecting the indoors to the exterior. This arrangement provides for unique outlooks from all extents of the home providing a glimpse to the ever-changing light play falling on the courtyard walls.
Project details
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Best Individual House from $1 – $2M
Best Use of Steel in a Residential House
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Exploring our Options
The Client's for the Buderim House came to us with a spectacular site, on which was their existing home of 30 years. Though the existing building was tired in some areas and the family had outgrown it there was a distinct quality about the space that they loved and were reluctant to lose; there was a modernist simplicity, lots of natural light, unobstructed views to the coast and it occupied the site comfortably without being overbearing on the street or ostentatious. Our initial concepts explored options for single and double storey houses alongside options to retain and extend parts of the existing through to full new builds.
A Simple but Bold Statement
The preferred option was very quickly a single storey, modernist inspired courtyard house. Sitting quietly on the wide street, we wanted to be playful with the view and create a slow reveal that would open up on the journey through the house. Part of this procession was in creating a sense of intrigue from the street; a stone garden wall with a single aperture into the courtyard and the correct proportion to allow the oversailing roof beyond to peak above...
