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Architects: BKK Architects
- Area: 349 m²
- Year: 2010
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Photographs:Peter Bennetts
Text description provided by the architects. The recurring ritual that plays out in the journey to the holiday home is integral to the conception of this house: the car and its contained interior; the stop off for provisions in the last town before arrival; getting out and unchaining the entry gate before driving onto the site; the wall that confronts them, the view denied; the welcoming gesture of the front portal wedge; and the final release to the view as one enters the main living spaces.
Beached House continues BKK Architects interest in the curation of the domestic as a sequence of unfolding spaces that deny, and then release views. The journey through the house is through a series of subtly shifting spaces that alter one’s orientation to climate and terrain.
Beached House has been conceived formally as an exercise in volumetric origami; folding of spaces over and upon each other. In this way the house resembles a small village or informal site occupation that has aggregated over time. There are a number of these folded spatial sequences within the house that allow for playful discovery and encounter as well as opportunities for varying connections between spaces.
Carefully sited in response to prevailing conditions and site, there is a sense that the home has been washed ashore and then embedded into the terrain, anchored against the elements. The external spaces are located, nestled, between these elements and are orientated according to the shift in the wind and sun patterns throughout the day. The location of these external spaces offers alternatives for occupation and shelter depending on the prevailing weather and time. The large masonry wall forms an organisational spine to the house whilst also anchoring the various elements firmly into the landscape. This investigation of the wall as a mark on the landscape and the exploration of site occupation are ongoing areas of investigation for BKK Architects.
Builders will always have ‘smoko’ in the most sheltered spot they can find and it was interesting to watch them occupy imaginary deck spaces before they were built. These casual occupations confirmed the climate analysis we had done to determine the most appropriate spaces for outdoor recreation.
This home offers various readings and differing options for occupation to the owners. It is intended that living in the house will be an unfolding series of moments, linked closely to climate and site that will continually delight and surprise.
