middleton beach house.

With a site set a few streets back from the beach, the owners were inspired by old-style holiday beach shacks and keen for their home to have a laid back, relaxed vibe.

Pre-design began by looking at development options as the site has an R30 zoning with potential for three units. After looking at several workable options, the owners decided to focus on a family home, with a smaller area saved behind the house as a future development site.

The outcome of the project is a large single storey home with plenty of yard for the kids to play, huge veggie garden space and shed. Louvre windows, Hardies Scyon Linea boards and Matrix claddings were applied to a simple box form with skillion roof plane, creating a classic beach house aesthetic.

A close connection between the yard and inside living spaces was high on the clients' priority list. This was achieved with groups of louvre windows, a window seat and large folding doors that open up the whole living area to the outdoors, making it feel like a large verandah.

As with all Benson Design projects, energy efficiency was integral to the design process. The house was positioned close to the southern boundary, creating a large northern outside area. Winter sun warms the house via large clerestory glazing and northern windows. This heat is held inside by additional insulation applied under the concrete slab, walls and roof. The slab retains the warmth gained during the day and releases it at night. A thermal report on the completed house shows it to be performing well above the certified rating it was given during design, with an internal temperature fluctuation of only 4˚C throughout the year.