Honest and Raw – St Andrews Beach by Planned Living Architects

Focusing on a raw and honest expression of materiality, St Andrews Beach explores the modern coastal home of casual movement and flow. Planned Living Architects draws influence from the surrounding natural elements to propose a light and animated series of spaces.

In matching the ease of living along the coast, St Andrews Beach captures the spirit of its place. Through an emphasis on simplicity and the understated, the semi-permanent residence needed to combine both the convenience of a contemporary home while also reflecting the location and a lifestyle away from the city for its owners. A certain level of robustness needed to be integrated into the core of the home and considered in every resulting gesture to ensure its appropriateness so close to the ocean. Both in responding to the occasionally harsh weather conditions and in the lessening of maintenance over time, the selection of materials and finishes work with nature rather than fighting against it. Planned Living Architects, being familiar with the area and situated not far from site, draws from the architects’ own experience and indelible understanding of the site conditions to ensure the home is fittingly apt.

The ability for the materials to patina and age over time captures its own narrative between the building and its site, as well as between its owners and the space.

Built by Doorey Constructions, St Andrews Beach is located near several beaches that form part of the Mornington Peninsula National Park. The deliberate lack of embellishment is an extension of the values that underpin the home. Both in how junctions are expressed and the lack of finish on materials, the raw and textured finish of the comprised elements becomes a celebrated feature. Allowing for connections between inside and out, openings allow the exterior rooms to act as an extension of the home and encourage a flow across the traditional building threshold. Flexibility was also key, integrating elements that allow for a certain level of compression and release over time, as guests come and go.

Combining timber and concrete, the structural formwork of the home creates a solid foundation for an openly engaged life. While polished concrete runs underfoot throughout, brass and other metal accents add an element of refinement and elevate the everyday. The ability for the materials to patina and age over time captures its own narrative between the building and its site, as well as between its owners and the space. The home is nestled into a bustling area of St Andrews Beach and creates an idyllic escape from the happenings of the outside world and a break from city life. In its uncomplicated nature, the home captures the character of the beach.

In its uncomplicated nature, the home captures the character of the beach.

Through paring back and allowing the materials to remain as they are, St Andrews Beach expresses a natural texture as a considered response to site. Planned Living Architects crafts a considered and contextual insertion into the coastal environment.