Palm Cove House

3 bed, mid $500's, Palm Cove (2004-6)

Reconciling the seemingly disparate client requests of ‘fibro beach shack’ with ‘urban, slick and lots of storage’ has resulted in a house of two similar yet distinct pavilions.

Australian Institute of Architects Regional Commendation 2007.

Brief & Context

The clients wanted a main bedroom suite with study for themselves, a breezy living room and deck above ground, and bedroom space for guests. They were interested in pavilions, and wanted a contemporary feel. Natural ventilation, low energy, and rainwater were also priorities.

Design Approach

The different functional areas are expressed in the form of two pavilions. These share a similar language with skillion roofs and protruding decks, but with different materials and shapes, from the long and skinny living room to the square and tall bedroom wing. The timber battened stair tower provides the spatial and functional link between the two. While many Palm Cove houses have retreated behind tall fences, this house engages the street with an open carport and entry, and a smaller private courtyard for privacy to bedrooms.

From the street it presents a tall shack with louvre windows and awnings and a welcoming front, that references a part of Palm Cove building history that is now almost gone. The entry leads through a ground floor guest level to a central stair case. This open, but secure, breezeway stair connects the half level living room pavilion with the, two level bedroom wing. The elongated living room is seriously slick, with a wall of monochrome cupboards hiding storage and displaying art, and a huge central stone bench oriented toward the generous deck.

Materials

Floor: Tiled concrete slab or concrete pier footings, steel floor frame and timber joists with tongue and groove flooring, hardwood decking
Walls: insulated cement rendered masonry walls or timber frame
Frames: Duragal steel framed columns and roof beams
Cladding: 6mm battened cement sheet and colorbond corrugated steel
Linings: Flush finished plasterboard
Roofing: Colorbond metal pan roofing, 200 diameter half round gutters
Windows: aluminium framed windows, doors and louvres

Sustainability

The house is naturally cool with high level heat exhaust, large overhangs and excellent cross ventilation, despite its orientation to the western mountain view. Water is collected under the living room for re-use in clothes washing toilets and irrigation. The house was plumbed as ‘grey water ready’ and ‘PV solar ready’ as grey water was illegal at time of approval, and solar panels were outside of the budget.

Design Team & Builder

Mango team: James Maude, Liam Froggatt
Structural Engineer: Chas Gianarakis
Landscape: Hortulus
Builder: Vis Constructions

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