The Prebuilt Bondi Retreat

It’s hard to believe this family home, located a stone’s throw from Bondi beach, was built in just a little over twelve weeks.

Simple and innovative the home designed by Architects Pleysier Perkins offers natural filtered light and welcoming spaces. Busy lives and a fixed budget meant the prefabricated method of construction offered by Prebuilt was going to deliver the project results with minimal upheaval, on time and with a cost-controlled outlay.

Together these two companies form a strong working history. Pleysier Perkins working closely alongside the client to achieve the detailed brief, whilst always applying Prebuilt’s prefabricated method of construction they have come to know so well. The resulting 198 square metre, two-storey home is constructed using 5 custom sized modules, and houses three bedrooms, two bathrooms, study and laundry, two living areas, and open plan kitchen and dining.

“Located on an extremely narrow urban site, with houses built close to both boundaries, the biggest challenge was to get light into the lower living spaces. The finished house is a testament to Pleysier Perkins ability to design efficiently for any site,” states Prebuilt.

The design of the home on the tight suburban block opens to a lower level open-plan kitchen and living. The clever use of floor to ceiling window joinery allows maximum light and creates a seamlessness between indoor and outdoor. Opening directly onto an entertaining deck wrapping the exterior of the house and with level access to the landscaped garden a total sense of easy living is achieved. The addition of a structural pergola provides design detail and engaging filtered light to the main living zone.

The interior palette is neutral and monochromatic creating a feeling of simplicity and relaxation. Pale oak flooring, white walls, and a sleek black and white kitchen all add to the wonderful sense of ease and calm immediately obvious in the design. The exterior is clad in Weathertex vertical boards painted in a dramatic Haymes Black Pitch, paired with white schist brickwork, and feature concrete pathway pavers. A carport built separately onsite, and landscaped native garden with surrounding tall palms and bamboo, all help to complete the stylish house design.

The house was prefabricated in mid-2016 taking roughly around 12 weeks to build in Prebuilt’s Melbourne-based factory. The contracted price includes design, build materials, project management, transport, fitout, staff accommodation, footing system, engineering, traffic management and installation costs. Five trucks transported the five modules to site, while ten staff were involved on the install day. Two consecutive weeks were spent with five Prebuilt builders fixing the module joins. The third week involved contractors to connect plumbing and electrical requirements with carport, decking, paving and landscaping following subsequently.

This humble and smart, modern home really is an architectural achievement in design and construction. It offers an easy and relaxed coastal lifestyle in amongst the thrust of urban living. Living a beach lifestyle and spending quality time outdoors requires balancing with a home offering attached essentials of simplicity and ease. A goal well achieved by this project.

Photographed by Tom Ferguson.