Living on the ground and sleeping in the sky. The site is a fore-dune that fronts directly onto beautiful Newport Beach, a holiday destination on Sydney’s most northern peninsula.

 

The ground level is conceived as “of” the sand dune – a platform for living like the original site. This is not a building of convenience, it pushes the edges of “occupation” striving to discover paths of “settlement” that comprehended the patterns before.

 

The structure, like fore-dune vegetation, is strong, rigid and visible. A clear span, creates a ground floor space of manipulated light, with door and window panels that slide away blurring the building edges, a mix of living, garden, pond and function. Bedrooms and bathing areas are located on the upper level perceived as the “canopy”, enclosed and protected rooms with openings where air-flow, solar penetration, privacy and views can be manipulated – a place of calm.

 

The building catches and recycles water, employs photovoltaic cells on the roof to put power back into the grid, has an integrated hydronic floor water heating and cooling system and employs a pond with mists sprays for cooling.