Fairweather Residence
The design was a collaboration between Architect and Builder (the client).
The aim was to create a strong architectural statement, mindful of the practicalities of construction. It needed to be beautiful as well as practical to build and ultimately live in.
The client wanted a relatively large building which minimised wasted space and in doing so, reduced the footprint on the site. Thereby affording more space to still landscape and blend in with the surrounding neighbourhood.
The design needed to capitalise on the views from the house across the bay from Portarlington. The main open plan living areas, alfresco dining and master bedroom, overlook the Portarlington harbour and Corio Bay.
The design features extensive use of strategically located windows to perform 3 key architectural requirements:
- Capture and frame views around the site and across the Bay.
- Capture and direct prevailing breezes through the house to passively ventilate and cool the building.
- Enable ample daylight into the internal spaces to create light and shadow, highlighting the natural timber flooring
The clients have several cars and motorcycles which need to be accommodated. But they didn’t want the presence of a garage to detract from the overall aesthetic. This was achieved by located directly under the main living areas and camouflaged behind a feature timber clad ground floor façade treatment.
The clients wanted to specifically use a combination of materials that would be suitable for a coastal environment, in terms of aesthetics and practicality. AMG Architects used this palette of materials and finishes to articulate the different parts of the house, reduce bulk and scale, create dynamic interest and a strong coastal identity. Some of the key materials used included:
- Boral Designer Block around ground floor structure.
- Silvertop Ash cladding around street-facing elevations of garage on ground floor.
- Natural stone to feature entry column.
- Cedar framed windows.
- Weathertex Primelock weatherboards as the primary first floor cladding material.
- Weathertext Ecowall articulated wall cladding panels to sections of the ground first floor.
- Bituminous tile sheet roof.
- Spotted Gum solid timber flooring throughout the house and feature alfresco dining area.
- Caesar stone benchtops in bathrooms and kitchen.
- Stainless steel European Appliances.
The house was designed to achieve a 6-star energy rating and a very low carbon footprint. The need to mechanically heat, cool and ventilate the house is very low, all-year-round.
The house is an example of how AMG Architects have worked together with the builder/client in achieving a contemporary coastal house that is both beautiful and practical.
