Focused Softening – Coral by Shaun Lockyer Architects
Seamlessly blending the built form with its natural setting, Shaun Lockyer Architects deliberately balances Coral and the landscape through a conscious lens with respect to the adjacent Noosa National Park. In the crafting of the home, the architect focuses on creating a bold presence among such densely landscaped surrounds to ensure a merging of hard and soft elements to create the ideal place of calm retreat.
Coral sits idyllically, acting as an extension of the nearby national park in Sunshine Beach. In conceiving the home as a series of both soft and hard elements that interconnect with one another, the architect instils an overarching effect of the residence’s presence on the land and softens its edges with natural, native plantings and an inground pool. By combining water, air and greenery, the structure becomes its own disconnected hideaway among the elements whilst remaining open and engaging with incoming natural light and ventilation. Shaun Lockyer Architects brings the focus on the natural inward, forming an equally balanced palette of textures and warmth.
Whilst much of the home is sculpted from infilled concrete formwork, the interior is shaped with a strong presence of timber. An openness binds the internal zones with the natural elements to integrate an atmosphere that is restful and recharging. With an extension out into the dedicated garden spaces, the outdoor living areas become rooms and destinations extending from the home. Allowing a more immersive experience, the transition beyond the encasing thresholds of the structure emphasises a sense of immersion in nature and the endemic plantings of the area. Fortunate enough to abut the Noosa National Park, it was an obvious decision to bring a similar natural association into the residence.
Balancing the use of robust concrete, glazing and openings plays a key role in connecting the home to place. Allowing both physical movement between inside and out, and for ventilation and warmth to change the climatic feel of the home, visually connecting to views in the distance and to the landscape nearby was important to the story of the home. Looking out toward Double Island Point to the east, and with views to Lions Rock to the south, a sense of expansion and generosity is created throughout.
Allowing a more immersive experience, the transition beyond the encasing thresholds of the structure emphasises a sense of immersion in nature and the endemic plantings of the area.
In proposing the home as an enduring and robust collective of parts, Coral sits as an interactive element within the landscape. Despite its boldness, Shaun Lockyer Architects has created a residence of human scale and approachability that combines the familiar elements of a traditional house with a forward-focused legacy.
