There’s no one-size-fits-all mannequin for multi-generational residing, and this easy cabin hidden within the Gold Coast is one other nice instance of pondering exterior the field.
The homeowners of a 14-acre block in Tallebudgera, Kristie and James wished to carve out an area the place Kristie’s retired father, Kevin, may dwell beside them amongst a sea of tallowwood bushes.
They engaged Fouché Architects director Rayne Fouché to execute this ‘three way partnership’. ‘The transient was extremely easy,’ Rayne says — but he acknowledges Tallowwood Cabin as his observe’s most difficult undertaking so far.
‘Kevin wished a two-bedroom dwelling with sufficient lined deck area for a pool desk. The opposite foremost requirement got here within the type of web site stewardship. They requested us and the builder to look after the positioning as a lot as they do.’
This meant avoiding clearing the native vegetation wherever doable. However balancing the agricultural web site’s bushfire necessities with the preservation of the encircling surroundings took some trial and error (over a 15-month-long design and documentation interval) to get the plans throughout the road.
The property’s steep slope and lack of entry posed an addition issue. ‘We needed to arrange the undertaking to accommodate vehicles and other people coming and going,’ Rayne provides. ‘We did this by operating the driveway parallel with the positioning contours, gently descending all the way down to its remaining location within the undercroft, which is the place autos are parked.’
The undercroft additionally made room for a water tank and allowed the house to hover above floor beneath, limiting its affect on the panorama. Plus at simply 84 sq. metres, the ensuing residence accommodates a lot much less embodied power than the common home.
Each factor was designed to reply to the place of current bushes, from the geometry of the floorplan to the refined look of the facade.
‘The constructing type was conceived as a black linear extrusion hidden within the panorama. On account of excessive bushfire necessities (BAL-FZ for these within the know), we had been restricted to a couple examined programs,’ Rayne says of the fabric palette. They ended up selecting black-stained fibre cement VJ cladding for the outside, whereas the textural and cost-effective oriented strand board (OSB) traces many of the partitions inside for a cocooning impact — drawing inspiration from the ‘spirit’ of an American log cabin.
‘On a sunny day, [the facade] displays the inexperienced hues of the encircling vegetation superbly,’ he notes. ‘We’re most happy with how the cabin touches the bottom calmly, and the way it instantly connects to the tree cover
However Rayne says essentially the most rewarding a part of the undertaking is that the cabin has created a possibility for the household to dwell shut to one another, and ‘take care of one another into the long run’.
