Remote Resilience – Coolamon House by DFJ Architects

Referencing a modernist rectilinear approach, Coolamon House sits solo in the Byron Hinterland landscape floating out over the expanding terrain below. DFJ Architects brings a robust resilience to match the setting, together with an unexpected refinement to create an idyllic and removed experience within a unique natural setting.

Immersed within the unique Byron Hinterland, Coolamon juts out from its solid foundation as a rectangular formation that wraps around a protective courtyard, preserved from the prevailing and intense winds and creating its own private enclave. Isolated in its siting, a modernist sensibility is referenced in the formal approach, where clean lines and long reaching cantilevers allow the structure to appear floating. The surrounding landscape neatly borders the house and over time is intended to further reinforce a sense of absorption within the site. Sitting solo, a remote and removed experience awaits. With a robust and resilient approach to materiality, the spaces allow for a feeling of being at one with nature while protected from the harsher elements. DFJ Architects injects refinement through detailing and a controlled restraint that allows the home to sit harmoniously within its context.

With a robust and resilient approach to materiality, the spaces allow for a feeling of being at one with nature while protected from the harsher elements.

Built by Cedar Creek Constructions and with landscaping by Fig Landscapes, Coolamon House is a one-bedroom home with accompanying living room, guest accommodation and landscaped pool and terrace areas. The focus from within is a connection to views beyond, and on approach the home is a crisp insertion into the landscape. The home sits in amongst far spanning views that offer a meditative quality, and when within the protective glass enclosure, guests are made to feel removed from the traditional residential experience. The courtyard allows the living and socialising to continue beyond the building edge, and through its careful positioning, it is guarded from the winds and unwanted solar gains, making it an ideal place to disconnect from everyday life.

With 180-degree views encompassing the coast in the distance, qualities of a raw robustness are brought internally through finishes and the absence of ornamentation. Intended to patina over time, materials such as timber, concrete and brass have been used as an expression of time, while their quality and enduring nature heightens the incidental engagement. The stillness of the surrounds inspires a matched simplicity in the approach of the resulting space and form, which sees a considered restraint in the use of finishes and the continuation along long linear planes to accentuate a consistency and concise approach throughout.

The stillness of the surrounds inspires a matched simplicity in the approach of the resulting space and form, which sees a considered restraint in the use of finishes and the continuation along long linear planes to accentuate a consistency and concise approach throughout.

Coolamon House offers glimpses inward through its transparent elements of skin, while feeling completely open from inside yet crafted in its protection. DFJ Architects has created a unique and enviable abode that takes full advantage of its location, while offering a rare opportunity to be engrossed in such an interesting and diverse landscape.