Updating a Mid-Century Home – Sand Dune Sanctuary by Hindley & Co Architecture and Interiors
Nestled into its natural, softly undulating surrounds, Sand Dune Sanctuary sensitively takes the previous mid-century essence of the original home and references the movement’s masters in its transformation. Hindley & Co Architecture and Interiors brings a combined understanding of restraint and a refinement of materiality and form.
Located along Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Sand Dune Sanctuary sits neatly and lightly into its coastal and landscape surrounds. A mid-century home in origin, the use of concrete slabs, cantilevers and long- spanning slender steel elements are nods to the era’s innovative shift towards open and connected homes. Expanding upon this, the new works see Hindley & Co Architecture and Interiors reference the movement’s masters to further complete the home’s story of representing such a flourishing and important time in architectural history. Through a clear and combined understanding of restraint and materiality, the resulting form and application proudly refresh the home and reinforce these principles.
Upon first meeting, the architectural team was gifted a publication on mid-century classics. The pages showed an impassioned appreciation for work by the likes of Richard Neutra, Harry Seidler, Jorn Utzon and Mies van der Rohe, each in their relative international settings. Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, however, was the most notable and perhaps architecturally relevant, with similar volumes and openings. As a launchpad for inspiration, the team sought to reference key successful elements of the Farnsworth House and apply with relevance to Sand Dune Sanctuary. The original core architectural elements of the home were re-used, with the addition of fire-retardant materials applied, and photovoltaic cells, sustainable lighting, appliances, increased verandah depth and thermal mass added.
Located along Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Sand Dune Sanctuary sits neatly and lightly into its coastal and landscape surrounds.
Imagined by Fiona Brockhoff Design, the surrounding landscape offers a transition element between the hard, built form and the natural landscape the home sits upon. The driveway on the upper level is concealed through reinforced lawn, and the transition between the two levels of softened through a number of interventions. The upper level houses the main accommodation for the client, with sloping access to the floor below. And the lower level is its own self-contained residence for visiting family and friends. The extensive use of travertine and a warmly muted material palette offers a place of respite and escape, as its overlooks treetops and softly engages with the site beyond. The combination of Tasmanian oak, textured brickwork and natural stone all add areas of interest and subtle contrast throughout.
Sand Dune Sanctuary is a finely honed reference to its era’s masters and connects well with its site through a considered understanding of the home’s context and surrounds. Hindley & Co Architecture and Interiors reinjects a sense that continues the lineage of original home through a sensitivity to what lay before, while optimistically considering the home’s relevance into the future.
