Connection to Place – Sandy Point House by Kennedy Nolan Architects
Born from a connection to place, Sandy Point House speaks to the modesty of the occasional coastal home that embraces its context and conditions. Kennedy Nolan Architects approaches the site with humility and sensitivity.
In its removed coastal surroundings, Sandy Point House sits as a beacon of modesty, capturing the spirit of the occasional holiday home, although it is also intended for extended stays. The house is designed as a destination and a place of many comforts, where its visitor is encouraged to stay throughout all the seasons of the year. The resulting home needed to be a place that spoke and responded to the geographic and climactic context of the landscape it is situated within. Carefully approaching both the site and the home’s materiality with an awareness and a sensitivity, Kennedy Nolan has captured a sense of purpose, and of the location and its conditions in the design.
Built by Gene Laity Builders, Sandy Point House is primarily constructed from timber that is compliant to the requirements of its bushfire-zone setting. At the core of the home is a coming together – of individuals, generations and purpose – where a series of private, passive and active spaces are designed and orchestrated together as part of the planning. In its remote location, the home has few neighbours and its ability to be secured and require little maintenance was of high priority. Known for its modesty, the small township sees dirt roads and humble dwellings sit together along the coast, and Sandy Point House needed to integrate into this community with ease.
Having evolved over generations, the connection to site and a sense of nostalgia needed to be maintained and the expression of the home as a place of family and tradition was key. The home is designed as a pin-wheel structure around a private and protected inner courtyard zone. This space allows a true immersion and escape from the coastal conditions and prevailing winds. The four separate pavilion-type zones are then accessed and connected through this internal outdoor space, creating a unique experience of transition and an embrace of the coastal environment as the zones respond to the terrain of the site. This courtyard also acts as the entry to the home and challenges traditional planning ideas of what makes a home, through a sensory awareness of place and changed social experience.
Deeply and intentionally imbedded within its landscape, Sandy Point House celebrates a well-known coastal palette of timber, v-groove board internal lining and textured linens, complemented by more refined elements. Throughout are curated zones for sitting, reading and pondering where integrated joinery provides seating and gathering spaces. Kennedy Nolan has created an enviable occasional abode in Sandy Point House, where the guests are challenged by experience, held tight with convenience and immersed amongst curious details.
