Elevated Regeneration – Chinamans Beach House by Studio Johnston

Set high among the clifftops, Chinamans Beach House optimises the lofted elevation of its site to create a private yet outwardly focused sanctuary. Studio Johnston draws from the interesting and layered history of the surrounds and focuses on regenerating the landscape as part of a greater offering from the home to the area.

With views that stretch to Sydney Heads and over the beach below, Chinamans Beach House overlays a new function for the site and ensures a connection beyond its bounding walls to the greater surrounds. Previously a sandstone quarry, the harder elements of the area were left scarred by reminders of its changed natural state, and instigating repairs and regenerative work as part of the creation of a new residence formed a core part of the brief. To navigate the steeply sloping site, the home takes form as a connected series of pavilions that each take advantage of the available aspects. Studio Johnston ensures an open methodology to allow clear movement internally and toward the views.

With views that stretch to Sydney Heads and over the beach below, Chinamans Beach House overlays a new function for the site and ensures a connection beyond its bounding walls to the greater surrounds.

The home takes inspiration from the site itself, using sandstone as a key structural element that anchors the structure in place. The newly formed landscape design by Myles Baldwin Design draws the focus to the natural setting, ensuring the edges of the home sit within an endemic buffering of native plantings. Due to the clifftop location and the resulting height of the home, the spaces created are uniquely private and secluded from the neighbouring elements yet immersed within the context.

A combined palette of natural materials such as timber and natural stone form the base of the home, which are then balanced by the openness facilitated by glass. As the forms traverse the landscape, each surface is considered for how it can best serve the home, with roof terraces and additional plantings creating a cooling blanket for various areas. Adorned with copper, thickened walls provide a thermal mass for temperature control across the seasons, whilst other mechanisms capture and store energy to reduce the overall footprint.

The home takes inspiration from the site itself, using sandstone as a key structural element that anchors the structure in place.

Chinamans Beach House watches over the surrounds and facilitates habitation among the natural landscape. Studio Johnston works with the existing harder edges of the site as inspiration for the resulting rectilinear approach, yet aligns with existing transitions to ensure a perceived weightlessness.