Under Construction: Cherish and Rebuild

The Brief

Merricks Beach on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, is still a relatively undiscovered destination. Unlike many parts that have been extensively developed with ‘McMansions’, here there are modest shacks and simple beach houses – many of which are new and nestled into the bush setting.

For this site, a couple of streets away from Merricks Beach, on a relatively large plot of over 1,200 square metres, a humble 1980s fibro shack required urgent repairs and upgrades to become a permanent home suitable for retirement. The brief was exciting and complex. The house was to accommodate adult children and grandchildren, friends and extended family, it needed provide opportunities to get together as well as retreat, enjoy outdoors but also protect you from the elements. Crucial to the design was a respectful separation from neighbouring houses on each side of the fences. Needless to say that we aimed for low maintenance, sustainable construction and operation and restoring biodiversity wherever possible.

Visiting The House

When we visited for the first time, the house told us its own history: a simple layout, weathered timber, carefully chosen furniture, and an outdoor deck protected by a large shade sail overlooking a lush garden. It had the casualness, simplicity and all the ingredients of a place away from a busy life in the city.

The Design

There are always options. You explore what to keep, what to improve and what to add. The outcome often is the delightfully unexpected, ranging from very simple internal alterations and small addition as in our 70’s house , to a substantial extension – see our Life Cycle House, or a new-build if the old building is beyond saving. In all cases we maintain the ‘Genius Loci’,  the ‘Spirit of a Place’ – our ‘House in a House’, a new courtyard home in a heritage street being a good example.

After working through a number of feasibilities, we found the old structure was beyond saving and replacing it was the most cost efficient, environmentally sensitive and rewarding option. We designed a slightly larger building still modest in scale. Given the abutting properties, with low fences on either side, we conceived it as a single-storey courtyard-style house.

The deep keyhole-style courtyard which also includes the entrance is therefore protected from neighbours overlooking with the extended wings on either side. This format also acts as a suntrap for the northern light. Clad in blackbutt, the U-shaped house features an open plan kitchen, dining and living area on one side and two bedrooms and a shared bathroom on the other. The third component is the main bedroom pod which will include the bedroom, an ensuite and a walk-in dressing area. And to allow for greater connection to the outdoors, there will also be an outdoor bath nestled into the courtyard attached to the main bedroom that connects to the rear timber deck.

While these wings ‘hug’ the central courtyard, timber seating that appears in both the open plan living areas as window seats and extends to the exterior rim to provide for outdoor seating. Rather than the traditional front door with a few pot plants either side, we envisaged visitors to be greeted by the family sitting on the outdoor seating that frames the entrance. These seats, as with the rest of the house, will be elevated above ground level, necessary because the area is prone to flooding. Although this house will include sufficient bedrooms for the children to stay, it was also conceived with grandchildren in mind down the track, allowing them to walk along the outdoor seats as though it was an extension of a playground.

And last but not least one of the joys of building, we used a new footing system, referred to as Mega Anchors, to lift the building off the ground to let water run through and not enter the inside in case of a flood.

The New Old Home

We replicated the bones of the old home: the warm timber, the low horizontality, the sense that the building doesn’t try to dominate the land it sits on. Everything has been opened up. Through the curved glazed wall in the living room one can look straight through it into the courtyard and the trees beyond. The curve catches the light differently through the day.

And then there are the small things like re-used and recycled materials and finishes or the client’s old pendant lights that carry important memories.

Closing Reflection

Once landscaping is complete, the garden grows and wildlife settles in, this will be a place where both the home and our occupants can age gracefully.  We look forward to seeing the timber developing a patina, the built form merging into the landscape and feeling like a home that could be here forever.