An Architecture of its Place – Coastal Court by Bower Architecture

Conceived from a place of balance, Coastal Court is the coming together of the natural and the crisply defined, to allow its owners to age in place, immersed in an organic setting. Bower Architecture institutively respond to the natural elements on site, in proposing a forever home intended to patina and pattern in harmony with the elements.

Marking the transition from the family farm to a more sustainable property to age in place, the owners of Coastal Court wanted to ensure the site aligned with their own nuanced brief. Finding the resulting space in Flinders was the result of a long-laboured search and saw the ideal mix of the natural surrounds that they were accustomed to, while allowing for the creation of a purpose-built home to facilitate their next chapter. Taking cues from the soft and neutral palette it is immersed within, the resulting home sits sensitively and wrapped in a rhythm of muted timber battens that will also age and patina over time. While the setting allows for an idyllic tranquil setting, Bower Architecture have endowed to respond with a matched lightness and propose a single-story home that delicately engages with the natural.

Key to the brief was both the need to be surrounded by natural, while also being a home that engaged with and encouraged nature to enter and fill the many spaces.

Built by Andrew French, together with landscaping by Laidlaw and Laidlaw Design, Coastal Court sits on a previously unoccupied allotment, just under 2000sqm. Its neighbouring medium density housing on both sides, while slightly removed, sits structured on either side of the site. As a buffer to that sharp transition between the landscape and the built form, the bounding landscaping approach was inspired by a soft tethering, blurring the edges in some way. Key to the brief was both the need to be surrounded by natural, while also being a home that engaged with and encouraged nature to enter and fill the many spaces. Following the natural gradient of the site, internal levels are accessed by way of graded ramping, further enhancing the natural flow and movement internally, and dissolving the traditional threshold between the inside and out.

The overall mass is divided into three main volumes, allowing for a guest wing to the north, the main bedroom to the south and a central living zone for convening between the two. Spread across its linear plan, the intention for views out was to avoid the neighbouring properties and instead focus on the restored natural elements, the gully and their own private internal courtyard. Openings are therefore curated accordingly to further reinforce the sense of seclusion. While clad predominantly in timber, the concrete flooring and intentionally large thermal mass ensures heat is retained, while operable elements ensure passive cooling and ventilation is prioritised.

Spread across its linear plan, the intention for views out was to avoid the neighbouring properties and instead focus on the restored natural elements, the gully and their own private internal courtyard.

Balancing the natural with an architectural crispness, Coastal Court is founded on a sense of calm, and through insertion of modern and considered elements, Bower Architecture have crafted a home to endure.