Coastal Permanence – Sorrento House by Jost Architects

Taking a future-focused approach, Sorrento House combines longevity and a sense of permanence while also imbedding a personal expression of its inhabitants. Jost Architects employs the refinement of a more urban setting within the coastal environment and enables an openness that connects to place.

When the owners of Sorrento House discovered a rare empty lot in the popular seaside locale, they saw an opportunity to combine their love of holidaying in the town with a forward-thinking plan to eventually relocate permanently. In a process that involved combining current needs with those projected, the focus remained on proposing a home that would resonate and connect with its owners and the surrounds well beyond its time. Jost Architects integrates a flowing sensibility between inside and out, activating the transitions between the landscape and the interior while encasing the outer volume in a symbol of textural timber and more grounded masonry.

Influences from both midcentury and Scandinavian stylings are combined internally, adding an eclecticism to the layers and tactility felt within.

Seeking an animated and bold interior, the owners wanted to feel cocooned once inside and to deviate away from the lightness common to many beach-side homes. Influences from both midcentury and Scandinavian stylings are combined internally, adding an eclecticism to the layers and tactility felt within. A unique warmth is created through curved gestures and the bringing together of differing textiles, transparencies and reflectivity. Much like the city of Melbourne and the darker and moodier palettes of its famed laneways, the home integrates a depth and richness through the select materials and finishes applied throughout. This palette is balanced by the extensive glazing that punctuates the exterior, bringing in natural light in response to a key functional element of the brief.

It was imperative that the home was immersed in the location. Traversing through a landscape space to the front, the entry builds with a deep connection to the natural, and that greenness is reinforced through an openness visually between zones and out into the rear garden. Spread over two substantial levels, the planning allows for moments of togetherness and those more intimate times of retreat. Then, across the site, a number of unique destinations are created – from the solar-heated pool to the rooftop space with views out over the existing and established tree canopies.

A unique warmth is created through curved gestures and the bringing together of differing textiles, transparencies and reflectivity.

As its own sanctuary, a place to recharge currently on weekends and during extended stays, Sorrento House aims to also make the coming chapter that much more enticing. Jost Architects pairs a welcome mix of warmth and comfort to create an inviting and congenial home.