Heavy concrete walls anchor this family home in Queensland, Australia, to its beachside setting, while hiding it from a busy road nearby.
Mermaid Beach Residence is situated in Queensland's Gold Coast region and has been designed to reflect "a desire to stay and age".

Its owners ? a couple with two young children ? had, for the past decade, lived further along the same stretch of beach in a timber-framed house that B.E. Architecture compared to the quaint properties found in American seaside towns like Cape Cod.
The clients tasked the practice with creating a "more timeless and iconic" home where they could indulge their family interests of surfing and yoga.

"[The house] is a dialogue between architecture and the intrinsic human desire and emotional need for permanence, or in other words; to put down roots," said the practice. "However, it's situated atop something that is impermanent, the beach; a place of erosion and movement."

The beachy environment became a key point of consideration in the design of the home, which is composed of stacked concrete volumes that were poured in-situ.

To combat glaring sunlight and strong winds coming in from the sea, the rear facade of the house has been inset with slatted oak-wood screens that the client can draw back when they want to open up the interiors to the outdoors.
These huge screens have been completely omitted on the busy, road-facing side of the house, providing the family with addit...