Madeleine Blanchfield Architects deliver a relaxed and welcoming single-story home, immersed in the landscape and community of Bendalong Beach, New South Wales.
Located in the southern New South Wales town of Bendalong, Madeleine Blanchfield Architects designed a single-story living pavilion nestled in the garden and surrounding coastal landscape.
The linear home blurs the interior and exterior living areas, intended to bring a sense of calm and authenticity to the retired homeowners. Cohesive with the surrounding neighbourhood, the house lies low in the street front, disappearing into the natural environment.
The facade’s operable timber screens balance the desire for privacy and a sense of openness. The timber screens are located under the wide eaves of the lean-to roof and between the glass line and perimeter columns. The screens provide both protection from the elements and user-centric ease of customising the level of privacy. When opened the house evokes the familiarity of camping and encourages social gatherings to inhabit the living, kitchen and dining areas. This detailing allows for the house to disappear into the landscape when open and provide a sense of protection when enclosed.
Built to BAL 19 bushfire rating, the Bendalong Beach House survived the most recent bushfires that ravaged the New South Wales coastline. The timber screens were initially designed to blend into the surrounding gum tree bush landscape but now stand in contrast to the post-fire burnt and bare landscape. As the environment regenerates over time the beach house will re-establish itself within the bush landscape and continue to welcome visiting wildlife.
The dining space features the CH24 Wishbone Chair by Hans J. Wegner for Carl Hansen + Son and the PH5 Pendant designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen.
The Bendalong Beach House is based on passive design principles, featuring local and sustainable materials. Madeleine Blanchfield Architects introduced a raw and honest palette; ply-wood timber bench and cabinets in the kitchen and polished concrete flooring for the open-plan interior that acts as a thermal mass heat sink for passive climate control. The house pays careful attention to texture with continuous layers of timber detailing adding warmth softening the home. Terrazzo bathroom flooring brightens the amenity spaces, working with the natural light to create an inviting softness.
Madeleine Blanchfield Architects‘ Bendalong Beach House presents itself as an accommodating series of spaces that open up to the landscape, encouraging social interactions and views of nature. The owners, Madeleine Blanchfield’s parents, loved spending time in their holiday home so much, they have since made it their permanent home.
great screens