PROJECT FEATURE Articles

Coastal Brutalism - Point Nepean Residence by B.E Architecture

Words by Emma Kate-Wilson

Photography by Derek Swalwell

On Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, the Point Nepean Residence from B.E Architecture is an architectural response to the vast scale of the natural environment in which the project is built.

B.E. Architecture’s practice seeks to incorporate design that is responsive to sustainability and environment into the core of every project. With the Point Nepean Residence, the design takes its cues from the ample vista views over Port Phillip Bay that frame the house.

The façade of the build is balanced within the natural environment by materials that enhance its setting and offer support to extreme ocean weather.

Jutting out from the site, the brutalist design was created with imported travertine. The sea-whipped wind has manipulated the coarse natural setting of the home, which is reflected within the rough, weathered texture of the stone. The use of this material ensures the building can withstand the unpredictable peninsula weather while cementing its place above to the rocky breakwater below.

Sustainably sourced plantation teak screens can be folded to protect against rain and wind, and open to allow sunlight and vast ocean views.

To maximise passive elements of design, the Point Nepean Residence includes a series of sustainably sourced plantation teak batten screens on the first floor. The screens can be manoeuvred to protect the building from extreme weather conditions but also open up to reveal the ocean views and let in the abundant daylight.

B.E. Architecture’s practice seeks to incorporate design that is responsive to sustainability and environment into the core of every project.

The architects added the dense 90mm solid travertine blockwork to provide increased thermal mass, which was boosted by the use of an air wrap on all walls and roof to create an insulated building cell behind the blockwork. Crossflow ventilation draws sea breezes from the ground floor through the stairwell, naturally cooling the home.

The house has a long walkway alongside an internal courtyard to the residences made up of three buildings, thanks to its irregular-shaped block.

Designed for a retired couple, the brief also had to integrate an intergenerational household for the clients and extended family and friends. As such, the build accommodates and was designed as three different units of habitation, situated within the lush tea tree parklands. This multi-generational architectural master plan allows for entire floors of the building to be closed up when not in use.

Jutting out from the site, the brutalist design was created with imported travertine.

Set at the back of a long irregular block, the house slowly appears from the entrance as you move within the property, building up to the zoned living response at the foreshore’s edge. A tall front gate frames the walkway into the house, which is next to an atrium-style internal courtyard.

The timber finishes inside the build reflect the external timber shutters, and the ocean-side aesthetic.

Stepping inside, the external palette of timber and stone is carried through with relaxed weathered tonal timber joinery, oak flooring, and light-coloured natural stone. The walls and ceilings are clad in timber lining boards, framing the vast ocean views from the home. The result is a natural yet refined beachside home that reflects and responds to the exceptional natural beauty of the site.