Defiant and Unassuming – House at Pretty Beach by lahznimmo architects

Defying its challenging site, House at Pretty Beach sits confidently anchored through a weighted materiality and solidity of form. lahznimmo architects aligns the resulting home with the existing contour lines of the terrain, using the natural elements as support to create a uniquely immersed home.

Set within a fragile and sensitive ecosystem, House at Pretty Beach allows its owners to become enveloped within the rare and distinctive natural surrounds. Developing any residence upon a steep slope can be a deterrent for many, with flattened terrain being the favoured path. Working closely with lahznimmo architects over many years, the solution lay in following the existing established contour lines of the slope.

A robust design inspires the materiality and sees the use of blockwork to comprise the overall form, protecting and providing a sense of shelter for the owners.

In designing the surrounding landscape, lahznimmo architects considered the impact on the site from a high level, ensuring that the architectural and built elements could be softened by the natural. Set among the treetops, the home opens generously to the surrounding dense woodland it sits within – a setting further emphasised through large, glazed elements that frame outward views. A robust design inspires the materiality and sees the use of blockwork to comprise the overall form, protecting and providing a sense of shelter for the owners.

Imagined as a low-maintenance home, openings instil a feeling that the forest and ferns are within arm’s reach. Home to the vulnerable Red-crowned Toadlet that is nearing endangered status, ensuring a minimal impact both on site and on the surrounding ecosystem was key. Access to the site and the environmental impact during construction needed to be considered, ensuring as little disturbance as possible was made. By aligning the structure lengthways, the form could nestle back into the slope with a series of platforms that transition down from the interior to the exterior decks and then into the forest bed.

Access to the site and the environmental impact during construction needed to be considered, ensuring as little disturbance as possible was made.

Designed with conscience, House at Pretty Beach inserts itself as a resilient and responsive structure among its bushfire-prone surrounds. With a challenging brief and location, lahznimmo architects creates a quiet insertion into the landscape, maximising immersion within the treescape whilst minimising impact.