Culburra Beach House

This beachfront beauty is located in the town of Culburra Beach, which is situated in the South Coast region of New South Wales.

The renovation project for this residence was all about modifying the house to respond to the dramatic outlook to the north, which overlooks the stunning Tilbury Cove and beyond to the northern extremity of Culburra Beach.

The existing house had a clutter of sliding glass doors and windows with closely spaced mullions along the north face, reflecting the traditional subdivided rooms of the internal space. The existing frames were old and approaching the end of their useful life as they had been victims of the savage beachfront marine environment.

Colin Irwin of iArchitecture was asked to begin the task of designing the renovation for this home. They worked closely with builder Preston & Sons Construction Pty Ltd to ensure all of the design functionalities were met.

The strict brief for this project was to ensure the renovation included modifying the original house to encompass as much of the beachfront view as possible. This was to be completed without altering the roofline or changing the building footprint, whilst ensuring the home had long lasting protection from the elements.

The strength, durability and energy efficiency of the Elevate™ Aluminium Systems range ensured the perfect glazing solution for this beachfront renovation. Local manufacturer Hanlon Windows provided an abundance of solutions and advice to ensure the perfect window and door combination to suit this home.

The Elevate™ Aluminium Systems range of windows and doors were utilised for this project due to their strength, weather performance and architectural design.

Due to the exposed location and the client’s preference of minimal framing, high performance Elevate™ sliding doors and fixed frame windows were selected to ensure the home complied with high wind and water ratings.

The Elevate™ Series 400 framing systems provided strength and versatility, achieving the 1500/350pa rating the project required. The Elevate™ Series allowed Hanlon Windows to manufacture larger size aluminium windows and doors.

Due to the close proximity of the beach, a marine grade anodising was required for the aluminium windows and doors. The marine grade anodised coating provides a greater corrosion resistance over standard anodised coatings, which was ideal for this exposed location.

By using the Elevate™ systems, the project was able to achieve a low U-value well below the required BASIX thermal assessment figure on this project of 4.0 Uw.

ICON™ hardware was used throughout this project due to its robust, square edge design which complements the sleek and clean lines of the aluminium frames. Its powerful, square-form handle offers a firm, comfortable grip. ICON™ hardware is made in 316-grade stainless steel, which achieves superior weathering perfomance.

The renovation created a very low impact on the environment by retaining the existing building footprint. The building met a range of lighting, acoustic, ventilation and heating requirements set out by the clients and architects. Energy efficiency was an overriding consideration throughout the entire project.

Hanlon Windows won the 2013 Australian Window Association Design award for Best Use of Windows and Doors in a residential renovation for this project.