A humble traditional cottage makes way for a spanking, new seaside home in this project from Rolf Ockert Design. Reinterpreting the possibilities of this unique site in Clovelly in New South Wales, Australia, and drafting out fresh architectural responses to them, the designers step away from the norms and their own comfort zone to create a home tailor made for this site. Completed 2014, the spectacular residence offers 450 square meters of plush, contemporary living, elevated by the beauty and vistas that surround and permeate through it.
The design was driven by the client’s deep familiarity with the site and its idiosyncrasies. These resulted in unusual strokes, which satisfy the functional and climatic demands, while lending the home its own flavor. For instance, the strong southerly winds coming in from the ocean face were bitter and cold through the year – even on a calm day – and meant that the opening here needed to be kept to a bare minimum; glazing is thus the order of the day, even if unusual on the southern face.
The location of the seafront to the south, with neighboring developments to the north, also meant the interiors needed to be oriented southwards; a series of north oriented skylights and a grand central void are thus introduced to counter the dearth of natural light that would result otherwise. Concrete emerges as the prime material – in part to address the climatic stress of seaside building, and in part to address and integrate the character of the natural landscape into this spectacular residence.
