Bilgola Beach House | Olson Kundig

Nestled in the sand dunes of Bilgola Beach, this 9,400-square-foot family home is located on the northern coast of Sydney, Australia. Passing through palm trees and Norfolk Pines, the site’s entrance leads through the solid volumes of the home’s main and guest wings. Upon approaching the front door, the view opens up to the sand dune and beach beyond.

Responding to the beachfront environment of its headland site, the home is designed to withstand Australia’s dramatic climate conditions, where harsh sunlight, high winds and flooding are common. The structure is set on concrete piles, allowing sand and water to move in and out beneath the building. At the same time, the design allows the family to connect with the natural environment, with shaded retractable window walls that merge inside with outside and provide passive ventilation. An interior courtyard brings filtered daylight into the core of the home, where a central water feature helps to cool the air.

The color of the home’s board-formed concrete walls references the color of the local sands, relating the architecture to its site and helping it merge with the natural condition of the headlands as it weathers over time.

CAPTION:

This 9,400 SF family home in the sand dunes of Bilgola Beach is organized into transparent and opaque zones. The private spaces of the home stretch to the north and south of the site and are framed in board-formed concrete that blends with the sand. Spanning between these two solid volumes are the floor-to-ceiling glazed areas of the public and entertaining spaces.

PROJECT CREDITS:

Completed: 2018

Project Size: 9,382 SF (8,147SF interior conditioned + 1,235 interior unconditioned)

Project Team: Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA, Design Principal; Kevin Kudo-King, AIA, LEED® AP, Principal; Simon Clews, Project Manager and Project Architect; Motomi Kudo-King, Lindsay Kunz and Martina Bendel, Architectural Staff; Debbie Kennedy, LEED® AP ID+C, Interior Design; Megan Adams, Casey Hill, Maresa Patterson, Interior Design Staff

Key Consultants: Bellevarde Constructions (general contractor); Advanced Design Innovations (gizmo fabrication); Auric Projects (client representative); BBF Planners (planner); CAB Consulting (landscape architect); Horton Coastal Engineering (coastal engineer); JK Geotechnics (geotech consultant); KB Architectural Services with Phil Turner (gizmo design); Niteo Lighting (lighting design); Partridge Engineering (civil and structural engineer); RJ Air (mechanical engineer); TILT Industrial Design (gizmo fabrication)