Balanced and Muted – Sunrise Terrace by Tim Ditchfield Architects
As an offering of balance, Sunrise Terrace responds to its native coastal setting through a muted palette, taking tonal cues from its surroundings. Tim Ditchfield Architects defines a contemporary architectural shell and softens the interiors through textural layers.
Nestled into the residential coastal fabric of Sunrise Beach, Sunrise Terrace takes form as a series of interconnected rectilinear gestures that surround and open to a generous and private courtyard. Both in response to its surroundings and to the much-needed level of robustness in coastal conditions, the form is wrapped in hardy grey steel sheeting, with large and inviting glazed punctuations connecting the interior experience with the exterior. Contrast is used to mimic a sense of protection from the elements and also to accentuate the architectural statement and clean lines imposed on site. Internally, a lighter approach creates an expanded sense of space, while the dark exterior shell aims to descale the overall size of the home. Tim Ditchfield Architects brings a contemporary cleanness together with a sensitive approach to context, to propose a home of purpose and endurance.
Nestled into the residential coastal fabric of Sunrise Beach, Sunrise Terrace takes form as a series of interconnected rectilinear gestures that surround and open to a generous and private courtyard.
Built by Dayne Lawrie Constructions, together with landscapes by Autumn Leaves Garden, Sunrise Terrace is spread over two levels and opens its rear to an expansive courtyard space. While the upper level offers a heightened sense of privacy with reduced openings and additional screens on windows, the lower level is planned around a deliberate openness and sense of connection. The resulting spaces have a hierarchy that matches the passive or active nature of their functionality, encouraging a matched engagement. The home’s siting allows for an uninterrupted overlooking over the adjacent native reserve, and the positioning of the central courtyard allow the two to feel connected and as natural extensions of one another.
While the upper level offers a heightened sense of privacy with reduced openings and additional screens on windows, the lower level is planned around a deliberate openness and sense of connection.
Taking cues from the natural context and nearby reserve, the colours and finishes selected offer a similar matched tonality and softness. While the exterior is inspired by a protective recessive quality, the interior is inviting and light. As a place of escape and calm, the palette aids in adding to the volumes created on site, further emphasising a sense of enclosure. The restraint and injected refinement then elevate the residential experience, creating a place that will remain appropriate well into the future.
Key to the execution of this project was a close collaborative partnership between the architect and builder, Dayne Lawrie and his team from Dayne Lawrie Constructions. The high attention to detail throughout the project serves to highlight the complete synergy that was present between design and build. The home presents many notable features that required a proficient level of skill from Dayne and his team to help bring the architects vision to life. The external automated screens are of particular significance, as are the full height floor to ceiling windows and doors which open up to capture north easterly breezes and allow for the natural flow of air.
Sunrise Terrace is imagined as a place of respite, immersing in and opening itself up to its surroundings. Tim Ditchfield Architects has composed a bold and contextually responsive building, as a place of protection that connects sensibly to its natural elements, while being a contemporary and relevant family home.
