Whale Beach House by Alex Popov in Australia

Whale Beach House is the one of contemporary beach house in Australia, located at the southern end of Whale Beach, between the main road and the beach. About the location, its characteristics and its history are part of the emotive connections that form a sense of place and context. Facing due east, the site falls away approximately 7 metres from the road to the eastern boundary and is flanked on both sides by brick- and-tile residences of a larger scale. Designed by Alex Popov & Associates, this project articulates the idea of a modernist approach to the peninsula’s traditional concept of a beach side dwelling. Architecture and physical location have always been inseparable from one another.


Whale Beach House by Alex Popov in Australia

The Architect, Alex Popov has left slices of beach view on each side of the house, drawing the eye down to the water so that all you see of the house from the street is a black box with blinkers either side for the entry and stairs. The box provides the living space, while the protective sweep of the enveloping timber arms provides light, air circulation, ventilation and provides view corridors to the beach from the road, maintaining public amenity.

On entering the three-level building, a large window frames the beach below and is flanked by a three-storey raw-concrete wall that shields the home from the neighbours. The entry level houses the dining, kitchen and lounge areas. The main bedroom is above, and an entertaining area and more bedrooms are on the ground floor, which leads out to a swimming pool. Alex Popov architect has carefully tempered the bright Australian sun, allowing it to penetrate the building at key points: through a cut-out in the main bedroom’s balcony and through light wells created on either side of the building. Light also pours in from the north through an open void and from the west through a double-layered white glass roof.

The Whale Beach House is clad in black-stained recycled timber and forms a U shaped black structure to the street with a floating that allows views to the horizon. Major contributions to the house design were made by the structural engineers, landscape architects and an interior designer. The demands placed on the engineer were considerable with respect to stabilizing the site along the boundaries.

The landscape was sensitively designed to compliment the materiality of the beach house. The majority of the street frontage is planted sensitively with natives, fed by two 4000 litre stormwater tanks. The co-operation of the interior designer and his prior knowledge of the clients assisted greatly in the development of an interior language compatible with the architecture.

source:http://www.housedesignnews.com