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Onesurf by Blueprint Architects
With Krause Emperor Bricks in Ghost as its foundation, Onesurf by Blueprint Architects is a sublime Gold Coast sanctuary that embodies beach living at its finest.
James Forbes of Blueprint Architects likes to say that the Gold Coast residence that is Onesurf was “conceptualised as a beach shack”. But there’s very little about Onesurf – apart from its prime Mermaid Beach locale – that calls to mind a modest coastal shack. Rather, it’s a home defined by a highly articulated building form that is at once open yet private; that is deeply grounded in the dunes; and where the delineation between indoor and outdoor spaces is difficult to discern. Despite elevated materiality and high-end fixtures and fittings, it still feels like the kind of relaxed beachside sanctuary where a family can kick back after washing the sand off their feet.
Onesurf’s location on a corner block in a busy cul-de-sac that is used to access the beach meant that privacy was a key consideration. “Brick veils, timber casements and a half-level difference to the street and the beach allow the occupants internal privacy while allowing a strong sense of connection and permeability to its surrounds,” Forbes explains.
The ground floor centres around a generous quadrangle with a pool. It is flanked by a wing to the north which contains, among other features, a change room and surfboard storage area. This wing segues into an entertainers’ dream that comprises a bar, living area and sunken lounge. Virtually every living zone fronts the beach or an alfresco space. “The ground floor completely opens to the external to create a blurred line between inside and out,” he says. “We wanted the home to be a little fun and playful, hence the beach club and bar and entertaining area, which are reminiscent of the Coast in its golden era.”
Perched on the dunes with direct frontage to the beach, Onesurf needed to be robust enough to cope with the often-challenging coastal surrounds. “The built form was to have a sense of strength to combat the environment and to age well beyond the lifespan of other contemporary neighbouring structures along the coast. The robustness and strength are inherent in the stone base, concrete forms and the slender, textured, sand-coloured bricks that will all patina with time.”
That brick – Krause Emperor in Ghost – is a defining feature of the home. The durable, elegant, handmade brick is used extensively both externally and internally, and was chosen by Blueprint after insitu testing. “We sampled bricks on site for their colour, contrast and elongation. We were looking for a brick that elongated the ‘horizontality of the horizon’, where sea meets sky and sand meets the beach. The slim, extended profile of the Emperor absolutely fulfilled that. We felt that the handmade quality, along with the colour variation and imperfection, would ground the house to the beach and dunes both in terms of colour and texture.”
This is a landmark year for Krause Bricks, a family-owned and -operated Australian company which makes its bricks from clay sourced from the old goldfields surrounding Stawell in regional Victoria. It will celebrate 80 years in 2025, marking eight decades of hand-made, small-batch manufacturing, creating bricks that are each singularly distinctive.
Sustainability is integral to its operations. Since January 2023, the end-to-end carbon emissions of every Krause Bricks order are 100 per cent offset. Additionally, the company is the first Australian brick manufacturer to offer full carbon neutrality on every order across its full range of products.
Architecture by Blueprint Architects. Build by TDM Constructions. Bricks by Krause Bricks.
