Eco Living
Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Settling Into Peregian Beach's 'Green Street'
The perfect addition to a streetscape of green crusaders, this family home fits in nicely
Situated within a ‘green community’, the residents of Spoonbill Street in Peregian Beach all have one thing in common: they are committed to protecting their environment and how they live in it. Residents are involved in the council’s Living Smart Homes program, and undertake a diverse range of community activities involving the environment. The bar was hence set when Bark Design Architects were asked to work on a new build within the street. The clients, a family of four, wanted a home that would celebrate the coastal landscape, blend into the natural bush environment, be discrete, and preserve the natural vegetation of the site. The result is a robust timber home design that responds to the climate, environment and broader landscape beyond its site through its choice of materials, orientation and organic vegetation; a house that plays a key part in the reputation of Spoonbill Street as a community of like-minded owners.
In addition to retaining existing vegetation, endemic coastal natives were planted to further buoy a connection to the site.
The home’s orientation consciously makes the most of the rising and setting sun, so the outdoor areas and main living areas benefit from an all-day sunny, northern aspect, while the sleeping zones take in the afternoon sun.
The home’s orientation consciously makes the most of the rising and setting sun, so the outdoor areas and main living areas benefit from an all-day sunny, northern aspect, while the sleeping zones take in the afternoon sun.
This double height ‘central’ room is the first room you walk into upon entering the house, and is visually connected to all other rooms within the house and the northern courtyard.
The floor is polished concrete with fly ash (a waste by-product of coal combustion power stations), which absorbs and stores the warmth of the winter sun. “It’s evocative of beach sand,” says Guthrie, “and combined with the warmth and natural patina of spotted gum hardwood shiplap cladding, framing, flooring, decking, joinery and screens; polycarbonate sheet; and glass, it provides a rich natural character.”
The floor is polished concrete with fly ash (a waste by-product of coal combustion power stations), which absorbs and stores the warmth of the winter sun. “It’s evocative of beach sand,” says Guthrie, “and combined with the warmth and natural patina of spotted gum hardwood shiplap cladding, framing, flooring, decking, joinery and screens; polycarbonate sheet; and glass, it provides a rich natural character.”
The house consists of two wings that wrap around the ‘central’ room, which Guthrie says “is a tall and generous ‘heart’ within the house for arrival, greeting, meeting, gathering, cooking, eating, playing, learning and relaxing as a family.”
Private sleeping spaces are accommodated in two ‘wings’. On the ground level of the eastern wing is the main bedroom, ensuite and guest room, while the upper level contains a flexible studio space. The second wing on the west of the living spaces comprises of two children’s bedrooms and a connecting bathroom.
Private sleeping spaces are accommodated in two ‘wings’. On the ground level of the eastern wing is the main bedroom, ensuite and guest room, while the upper level contains a flexible studio space. The second wing on the west of the living spaces comprises of two children’s bedrooms and a connecting bathroom.
The volume and scale of the dining space was designed to showcase a suspended ‘stingray’ sculpture by indigenous artist Aunty Vera, which was purchased by the homeowners during their travels to the Northern Territory. It is made from hand-woven pandanus grass. “They felt the contemporary fibre art piece had a strong connection to the environment and asked that it be incorporated into the design, preferably hanging suspended from the ceiling,” says Guthrie.
Eames dowel leg side chairs sit at the dining table
Eames dowel leg side chairs sit at the dining table
Overlooking the northern courtyard and its vegetable garden, the room features clerestories with polycarbonate sheet and glass louvre windows for maximum light, cross flow ventilation and cooling in summer. The vast use of both glass and polycarbonate sheet throughout the house, in place of dense walls, helps to provide a ‘translucent’ effect, further connecting the house to its natural surrounds.
The living area, to the right of the kitchen, overlooks the plunge pool and spa, which is accessible via a timber deck. A full-size glass panel helps create ambiguity between indoor and outdoor spaces.
The living area, to the right of the kitchen, overlooks the plunge pool and spa, which is accessible via a timber deck. A full-size glass panel helps create ambiguity between indoor and outdoor spaces.
Pictured on the ground floor are the doors to the main bedroom (left), powder room (middle), and guest bedroom (right). The flexible studio space sits above and remains visually connected to the central room, emphasising the volume of the space and allowing natural airflow to circulate throughout.
The clients’ request for internal plants plays out in the kitchen with a custom-made suspended planting pergola covered in vine. The combination of a spotted gum island benchtop, stainless steel cooking bench, and a reconstituted stone sink work in harmony against a crisp white backdrop and green splashback.
Beat Fat black pendants: Tom Dixon; Executive Marcel rangehood: Qasair
Beat Fat black pendants: Tom Dixon; Executive Marcel rangehood: Qasair
Open-space planning on the north-east side of the house enabled the family to create a raised timber edible garden, so they could grow seasonal herbs and vegetables to use in the kitchen and share with friends.
The upper level studio and its connecting stainless steel wire Juliet balcony provides outlooks over the garden and the national park beyond.
The upper level studio and its connecting stainless steel wire Juliet balcony provides outlooks over the garden and the national park beyond.
The living room from the northern courtyard, and the plunge pool and spa to the right.
Glass fencing provides a streamlined look between pool and garden, and ensures unobstructed views both inside the house and out.
“The raised spa accentuates the feeling of sitting in the tree canopy,” says Guthrie, “while all the pool equipment is housed neatly below.”
Durability class 1 recycled spotted gum from a local supplier is the predominant material used inside the house. Guthrie adds: “The house displays the timber craft of its construction by a local proud carpenter, who was selected for the project based on his skills and expertise.”
A study nook maximises space under the stairs.
A study nook maximises space under the stairs.
Clerestories are a predominant feature in the stairway, allowing natural light and a sense of openness in even a confined space as this.
In the bathroom, the glass roof, louvres and slatted floor ensure maximum natural ventilation and a connection to the outside garden. The idea was to create the feeling of bathing outside, but within full privacy.
Unbeknown to the casual eye, the timber decking on the shower floor can also be lifted in threes to reveal a sunken bathtub. The removable panels are spotted gum with a marine varnish, and are fixed to a stainless steel frame.
Tapware: Zucchetti; Kaidewei Vaio Duo Rectangular bath
Unbeknown to the casual eye, the timber decking on the shower floor can also be lifted in threes to reveal a sunken bathtub. The removable panels are spotted gum with a marine varnish, and are fixed to a stainless steel frame.
Tapware: Zucchetti; Kaidewei Vaio Duo Rectangular bath
The entry to the house is via a series of timber platforms that blend in with the surrounding sculptural banksias and Moreton Bay ash trees.
As can be seen best here, the irregular vertical design of the house also echoes the organic nature of the neighbouring trees. “There’s a natural casual elegance, a lightness and an authenticity about the place,” says Guthrie.
As can be seen best here, the irregular vertical design of the house also echoes the organic nature of the neighbouring trees. “There’s a natural casual elegance, a lightness and an authenticity about the place,” says Guthrie.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A young family of four and their Labrador
Location: Peregian Beach, Queensland
Size: 251.5sqm
Architect: Bark Design Architects
Bark Design Architects took a design approach that endeavoured to unlock the ‘spirit’ of the site rather than transform it. And so the house celebrates the existing beauty of the site, nestling into the landscape with timber cladding that will, in time, ‘silver’ to a beachy, natural grey reminiscent of the trunks of the existing Moreton Bay ash trees that surround it.
Director Stephen Guthrie further explains that the architecture of the house is “an environmental living, growing, and changing skin that offers protection while affording the clients a sensitive and inextricable link to the landscape they inhabit.”