St Andrews Beach by Aych Architects

Feature

Apr 27

St Andrews Beach by Aych Architects

At St Andrews Beach, Aych Architects turns an imposed building envelope into a courtyard house that remains sheltered from coastal weather while closely connected to the surrounding dunes.

Location

St Andrews Beach, Victoria, Australia

Architecture

Aych Architects

Interiors

Pleysier Perkins

Build

Penn Build

Filmed and Edited

Anthony Richardson

Photography

Anthony Richardson

Production

Simple Dwelling

‘Being able to have a house and have it in a place where it does have some level of protection, both from the natural dunes around it, but also be able to find a way that you can still access the outside and still be able to enjoy the broader site, but yet still have the protection.’

– Hugh Feggans, Aych Architects

A large coastal property does not necessarily offer complete freedom in deciding where a house should stand. At St Andrews Beach on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, subdivision controls and an established building envelope had already determined the part of the site available for development. It was not, according to Aych Architects, necessarily the most intuitive position. The task was therefore less about finding an ideal location than making the prescribed one support an extensive domestic program, northern light and a protected relationship with the landscape.

The site is exposed to the peninsula’s changeable weather but is partly sheltered by surrounding dunes. Rather than treating protection and openness as opposing conditions, Aych Architects organised the house around a central courtyard. The plan is close to a square, with the communal kitchen, living and dining spaces occupying one wing and the bedrooms arranged along another. The main bedroom is positioned towards the eastern end.

This inward turn allows the exterior to enter the centre of the plan. Northern light is not reserved for the principal living space but reaches the other parts of the house across the courtyard at different times of day. Rooms that might otherwise sit deep within an extensive footprint remain close to daylight, planting and open air.

The courtyard also changes how the scale of the house is perceived. Although the program is described as generous, the building does not need to extend into a long linear form. Views pass across the courtyard and between opposing wings, shortening the apparent distance to the exterior. From many positions, the landscape can be seen through more than one part of the house.

This is not simply an attempt to dissolve every boundary. The exposed setting requires enclosure, and the architecture maintains a substantial sense of protection. The courtyard provides exterior space within the body of the building, allowing occupation to move outside without being fully exposed to the wider site. It creates an intermediate condition: open to the sky and landscape, but held by the mass of the house.

Concrete blockwork gives that protective idea its material form. Where the building meets the dunes, the external walls also operate as retaining walls. Rather than constructing an independent lining in front of the structure, the blockwork remains legible as both architecture and the means by which the house holds the ground.

The material supports retaining, floor and wind loads while allowing large sections of glazing to open between the more solid walls. Double-height block elements rise through the composition, giving the house weight and anchoring it to the contours. Against them, broad glazed openings appear lighter and more expansive.

This balance between mass and transparency prevents the courtyard house from becoming either a closed compound or an entirely exposed pavilion. Concrete provides comfort, protection and a sense of permanence; glazing and the central void keep the landscape present within the plan.

With interiors by Pleysier Perkins, the house is organised within this clear architectural framework of solid walls, open views and changing coastal light. The interior spaces are not separated from the site by a decorative layer. Their character is established by the same elements that retain the dunes, support the building and frame the exterior.

St Andrews Beach suggests that a prescribed building position need not result in a generic response. By concentrating the program around a courtyard and asking one material system to perform several roles, the house transforms an imposed footprint into a specific experience of place. Its compactness lies not in denying space, but in ensuring that form, structure, light and landscape are closely coordinated.

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Front approach to St Andrews Beach house by Aych Architects, with concrete block walls, black vertical screening and a person walking towards the recessed entry.

St Andrews Beach house embedded in a planted coastal slope, showing concrete block retaining walls, dark cladding and layered roof forms beneath a cloudy sky.

Oblique view of the driveway façade, where tall black vertical battens screen the upper level above concrete block walls and a garage door.

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Full feature

Front elevation of the coastal house with concrete block piers, a black battened upper façade, central stair, carport and young trees in the foreground.

View into a bedroom from the hallway, with timber wall lining, dark sheer curtains, pale oak flooring and a narrow window to coastal vegetation.

Bathroom interior by Pleysier Perkins with a fluted freestanding bath, oval mirror, dark green stone vanity and large-format neutral wall tiles.

Timber-lined corridor with pale oak flooring and full-height black sheer curtains filtering light from the courtyard glazing.

Dark tiled bathroom with a freestanding bath in the foreground and a framed view through to the adjoining bedroom.

two-way bathroom with a freestanding bath, double green stone vanity and full-height glazing screened by vertical external battens.

Glazed internal passage overlooking the central courtyard and leading towards a furnished sitting room.

Living room with a timber-lined wall and ceiling, concrete block pier, green stone hearth and low cabinetry framing the fireplace by Melbourne-based architecture and interior design practice Pleysier Perkins

Furnished living room with curved seating, timber wall lining, a concrete block column and a tall opening to the coastal landscape.

Kitchen with timber cabinetry, green stone benchtops, a concrete block island base and full-height glazing beside the courtyard.

Wide view of the kitchen and dining area with timber cabinetry, a green stone island, concrete blockwork and glazing to the central courtyard.

Passage beside the kitchen with timber cabinetry, pale oak flooring and black sheer curtains along the courtyard glazing.

Galley kitchen with timber cabinetry and green stone worktops leading towards tall glazing overlooking the courtyard and pool area.

Dining room facing the central courtyard, with a dark table, leather chairs, clerestory windows and sliding glass doors opening to outdoor seating.

Kitchen island with four upholstered stools, green stone surfaces, timber cabinetry and a tall glazed opening beside concrete blockwork.

Timber-lined hallway with oak flooring, black-framed courtyard glazing and sunlight casting soft shadows across the floor and walls.

Wide living room with a curved sofa, timber-lined ceiling and walls, concrete block pier and full-height glazing on both sides.

Rear elevation of St Andrews Beach house with concrete block piers, vertical timber screening, full-height glazing and a lawn beneath a stormy sky.

Narrow exterior passage framed by concrete block retaining walls, dark cladding and a vertical batten screen at St Andrews Beach house by Aych Architects.

Poolside elevation with concrete block piers, full-height glazed doors and continuous vertical timber screening above the windows.

Close architectural detail of vertical timber battens casting striped shadows across a concrete block wall in direct sunlight.

View of the rear elevation with concrete block columns, dark-framed glazing, vertical screening and stepping stones beside the pool with coastal landscape behind

Poolside façade with concrete block walls, vertical timber screening and full-height glazing

Garage elevation with concrete block walls, a tall vertical batten screen and a narrow window beside the planted coastal slope.

Wide approach view of St Andrews Beach house by Aych Architects embedded between coastal dunes, with concrete block walls, dark screening and a recessed carport.

Floor plan of St Andrews Beach house showing the entry, bedrooms, rumpus room, study, kitchen, dining and living areas arranged around a central courtyard.

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Anthony Richardson

St Andrews Beach by Aych Architects