Palm Beach Blue is a Playful Reinterpretation of The Humble Beachside Shack

Palm Beach Blue is a playful reinterpretation of the humble beachside shack. Perched above the road on a steep west facing site, the four-bedroom house is a gentle negotiation of a challenging terrain. Its formal outcome is also an expression of the programmatic spaces within, where an elevated volume containing the private zones of the house hovers above the open living spaces. These are situated on an existing sandstone terrace sculpted into a platform for social activities to take place.

Full height sliding doors retract, expanding the living spaces out across this platform and taking full advantage of views across Pittwater. Subtle curving geometries carve out the building to enhance the experience of what is an undeniably beautiful landscape. Two dramatic voids break through the volume above, connecting sky to ground, and private to social below. Here a kaleidoscopic cut out allows a solitary moment to reflect on the views of the water beyond.

The weatherboard-clad, pitched roof form of Palm Beach Blue is reminiscent of the home that was once there before. Its soft blue tones disappear into the sky above, while its sandstone platform anchors to the earth below. This is a retreat that allows its occupants full immersion within the landscape while remaining respectful to its existing context.

Project Information

Architect: Benn + Penna Architecture

Photography: Tom Ferguson