The building, named “Dorman House”, is located near Lorne Beach, Victoria, Australia. Its owners are Kate and Grant. When Kate and Grant decided to renovate, they wanted to modernize the space, while retaining its charming, shack-like features, hoping for broader views and better sea views.
Architects: Austin Maynard Architects
In the end they chose the Australian design studio “Austin Maynard Architects”. This is a traditional post-war house along the Great Ocean Road, originally made of brick and cement.
The architect positioned the elevated extension above the pillars and beams with an industrial appearance. The new home includes a kitchen, dining room and living room, all of which are accessible via spiral stairs. The entire process has been carefully designed to respond to seasonal changes in coastal areas throughout the day.
The new living space does not protrude forward over the ridge-line of the old house. so the space avoids visually dominating the original shack.
The interior of the house is lined with Silvertop Ash, creating a comfortable cabin-like feel. On the north side of the living area, full-height windows slide open, letting in natural light and crisp sea breeze.
The architect explained: “We have polycarbonate on the ground floor to fill the room with a lot of filtered light.” “Although the old kitchen became a second bathroom and laundry, the original beach house was basically It remains unchanged. It has been reorganized and repainted to retain the charm and character of the post-war cottage. “
From an environmental perspective, because this building is in the southern hemisphere, most of the glass faces north for more light, and all windows are insulated with glass double-glazed glass. At the same time, old wooden floors were recycled and reused internally. A large water tank is used to flush toilets and water the garden.
