Boldly Grounded – K House by Renato D’Ettorre Architects
Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, K House sees uninterrupted framed views connect the home to its enviable siting. Renato D’Ettorre Architects focuses on an approach grounded in simplicity to anchor the structure, allowing the owners live in harmony with the idyllic surrounds.
As the form peaks out from the streetscape in a linear manner, K House follows the fall of the sloping site to reveal views of the ocean beyond, connecting the home to its context whilst optimising its outlook. Located in Kiama, the structure is a comfortable insertion to its removed coastal setting, as key systems underpin the inner workings of the home. K House takes on a modern interpretation of the coastal aesthetic, carrying a similar white palette forward whilst encasing the home in a crisply contained form with matched openings to allow for uninterrupted views out. Renato D’Ettorre Architects reinforces the residence’s presence through a continued palette, both inside and out, accentuating a sense of place.
K House combines an internal rigor of openness with a sustainable heart. Vegetables are grown and integrated into the many gardens across the site, whilst the accompanying landscape buffers the edges between the built and the natural. Allowing a contrast against one another, soft and harder elements balance and highlight each other in the process. With deep reveals punctuating the overall form, light and shadow play a major role in how the home intercepts with the weather and passing seasons, changing how the interior is occupied and feels throughout the year. The coming together of concrete, stone and brick forms the base of the home whilst extensive glass is used in key areas to direct views and as a reminder of place.
Entered through the top level where the main bedroom and study reside, the other levels are accessed through an internal stair. On the upper level, a terrace allows an outdoor setting that is protected from the elements whilst terraces and other outdoor spaces on other levels remain more open. Key to function was self-sustainment, seeing the edible gardens contribute a large part of that story. Integrated solar panels, heating, cooling and water treatment further add to the reliance on outside energy. Through restrained use of colour, the home feels restful and calm, allowing the ocean to provide a constantly moving show – ebbing and flowing.
Renato D’Ettorre Architects proposes a home of lasting fortitude and, through a deliberate expression of simplicity, K House sits connected to its site, openly and naturally lit.
