Freshwater House

The Freshwater House is nestled below a sandstone cliff overlooking a beach reserve in a northern Sydney suburb. Designed for a family of four, each level of the dwelling provides a different spatial experience to respond to its location within the site and its use.

The basement podium level is built to the front boundary, following the neighbouring developmenton either side. The garage is concealed behind vertical weathered timber cladding, which wrapsaround the entire level. Entry into the dwelling is through a deeply recessed vestibule andintroverted foyer cut out from the timber cladding.

An abstract ‘Z’ stair links the enclosed basement foyer to the ground floor level podium-top garden and living space, with expansive views over the beach. The glazed doors of this level visually extend the living space to courtyards within the site and the exterior landscape. The weathered timbercladding of the podium continues to this level to form a handrail, the battens of which are angled to maximise the view to the beach. Cabinet pieces within this floor are clad in black mirror, chrome and a veneer the colour of weathered timber. The space dissolves into a play of views and reflections, with the highly reflective surfaces contrasting with the colour and texture of weathered timber. The ceiling above the living space is painted matt black to minimise the glare from the water during the day and to dissolve the ceiling into the sky in the evening and along with it any sense of enclosure.

The top bedroom level is clad with custom-made external bi-folding shutters anodised dark bronze. The shutters provide privacy, enclosure and dappled light to this level. The detailing of the shutters is purposefully simple such that the building reads as an abstract form in the landscape when viewed from the beach.