Noosa Beach House

Wabi-sabi – a Japanese worldview centred on the acceptance of transience and imperfection – and the underlying philosophy behind this intimate and elegant Noosa home.

Designed by Linda Atkin and Steve Guthrie of Bark Design Architects, Sunshine Beach House addresses the challenge of how to make a home which is rich in solidity and heaviness seem light and open. Applying natural materials and semi-raw finishes, the home achieves beauty in imperfection and impermanence.

One of the unique features of this coastal home is the ability to lie in bed and see the ocean, despite a narrow street frontage and steep site. This feature became one of the defining elements of the brief requiring an ingenious design approach consisting of a series of semi-permanent layers.

Large Vantage MAGNUM™ Series 618 stacking sliding doors and Elevate™ ViewMASTER Series 411 Bi-fold doors are used throughout the home to create a series of layers integrating the internal living spaces with private external courtyards. The courtyards offer a series of private oases, none more dramatic than the central bathing courtyard which delivers a beautiful play between water and light.

The extensive use of doors and windows throughout the home’s layers allows views to be maximised throughout the depth of the home and enables the occupants to manipulate the breeze, delivering unlimited possibilities for the space to be opened up for ventilation or closed to create privacy.

The architects liken the effect to a yacht with the ability to adjusting the rigging to change direction. Within the home, high level Vantage Series 525 louvres can be opened to maximise summer breeze, whilst low level windows can be operated to funnel warm air up, allowing it escape through open louvres.

Being a coastal property with close proximity to the beach, flush thresholds were an important consideration for a barefoot lifestyle. Both the Series 618 Sliding and 411 Bi-fold doors are installed with flush thresholds for a streamlined transition between internal and external spaces.

With all its beauty, the coastal application also delivers an important challenge as the saline environment brings with it the risk of salt corrosion. Aluminium windows with stainless steel hardware are a practical solution in this application. The architects selected a high micron anodised coating “coastal sea breeze” to achieve maximum corrosion resistance and ensure the longevity of the finish.

Given the importance of the glazing within this project, it was essential for the window fabricator to be heavily involved from start to finish, working closely with evolving the details for flush thresholds and intersections with walls and ceilings. The window fabricator provided detailed shop drawings to ensure the accuracy of detailing and quality of finish desired by the architect and clients.

All in all this unique home addresses the challenges of a complex site and harsh environment with elegance and grace, achieving natural ventilation, maximum views and a use of high-performance glazing which brings the home to life and connects its occupants to the natural order of things