Australian firm Tribe Studio Architects has created a U-shaped, timber-clad dwelling in New South Wales that is meant to serve as an "affordable and sustainable prototype home".
The Bundeena House is located in a coastal hamlet of the same name that borders the Royal National Park. The home sits about 100 metres from Gunyah Beach.
Bundeena House is located near Gunyah Beach in New South Wales
The low-scale dwelling serves as a weekend retreat for Hannah Tribe, who founded Sydney-based Tribe Studio Architects in 2003.
While designing the home, Tribe and her team took cues from the modest fisherman cottages found in the area. Their aim was to create a holiday dwelling that embraced its context while also serving as a reproducible model. The house features an inner courtyard
"The home doubles as a replicable architectural prototype for a sustainable holiday home that is authentic to the Australian aesthetic whilst also being cost-effective, environmentally aware and supportive of local trades," the team said.
U-shaped in plan, the houses consists of rectilinear volumes arranged around a courtyard. Instead of creating a multi-level building with views of the sea, the architect opted to keep the house at one level.
Rectilinear volumes are arranged in a U-shaped plan
"We chose not to pursue a double-storey home to capture water views, in favour of tackling the larger challenge of creating an affordable and sustainable prototype home, with potential to be ...