Preserving the Coastal Vernacular – Summer House by NTF Architecture

Taking part in a larger conservation about heritage preservation amongst many Victorian coastal towns, Summer House aims to continue rather than replace the existing structure on site. NTF Architecture respectfully brings both old and new together using the existing vernacular as a guide, emphasised by a shared lightness of form and feel.

Each of us has a connection to our holiday and vacation times and the places that remind us of our whiles temporarily away from scheduled and structured lives – times spent exploring, learning, and seeing new things, without the constraints of anything resembling an obligation. There exists a certain romance around the places that these times unfold within and preserving them in their physical likeness, in a way, also preserves the memory. Summer House is born from similar conversations around preservation and, in particular, those within the towns the growing in popularity along the Victorian coastlines. Neatly located in Portsea, the new works of Summer House see NTF Architecture delicately add to the existing, celebrating the past instead of imposing a new and unrelated replacement.

The new sees timber used in similar plank form as the original home and bagged brick painted elements to bring all of the material elements together through a shared palette and lightness.

Built by Long Contracting, combining forces with joinery by Elite and custom furniture from Made by Morgen, Summer House takes seriously the need to be robust and low maintenance. A resulting focus on sustainability was key, decreasing a reliance on energy and waste while emphasising the home as a place to relax within, unencumbered by anything overtly complicated or technology-driven. Taking cues from the original preserved cottage at the front of the site, the new living pavilion is similar in its gabled form extrusion, with contemporary considerations, combining an openness and an embrace of the home’s generous yard, landscaping and tennis court.

The new sees timber used in similar plank form as the original home and bagged brick painted elements to bring all of the material elements together through a shared palette and lightness. Restraint and simplicity are both key to the binding of the old and the new and in the conjuring of the home as a place of rest and recharge. Each of the inserted elements, including joinery, is approached as if temporary furniture in itself, leaving the existing crafted details to be seen in amongst the new. Being outside and coming together were two central elements of the brief, and the resulting home enables these connections to effortlessly unfold.

Being outside and coming together were two main and central elements of the brief, and the resulting home enables these connections to effortlessly unfold.

While still retaining an element of its past, NTF Architecture has created Summer House as an embrace of the holiday spirit in all its forms, visually reminding occupants of the importance of disconnecting.