Bangalay,
Buderoo National Park, NSW
2000 - 2003

 

Bangalay is located in a temperamental area, where the environment changes from fog, to sunshine to heavy winds regularly.

 

The house is an elegant shed, orientated towards the north to make the most of passive solar gain. The building's uncomplicated circulation runs off a long central corridor. A simple skillion roof rises toward the east, where the living areas are located, allowing a greater sense of space and the daylight to stream in. The bedrooms are positioned on the western side, as the roof gently lowers to provide a sense of containment and security, but then lifts up as a gesture to the view beyond. The heart of the house is a large sheltered courtyard, which serves as mediator between the public and private spaces of living and sleeping. To the south robust concrete blockwork bays, for thermal mass, accommodate service areas such as washing and storage.

One of Bangalay's greatest attributes is its connection with the land. Large timber framed sliding glass doors surround the house, allowing the building to open and close and frame the landscape it so comfortably sits within. A large
cantilevered verandah roof hangs above these openings providing uninterrupted shelter to the area below. It's ability to open to the environment permits it's inhabitants to live at the edge of nature.

 

Timber and plywood are used extensively to soften the austerity of the other materials. The main structure of the house is a series of recycled hardwood portal frames, which gently step down to the west.