Sorrento House is a contemporary beach house nestled on a small coastal site. Designed to transform from a secure shelter to an open breezeway, this home is able to be altered depending on its resident’s needs. 

The brief was to create a flexible, private, light-filled beach house for seasonal occupation by our clients and their extended family throughout the year. The house is designed to sit within an existing site cut that creates a steep incline to the side street and rear of the property. These existing contours allowed us to sink the home into the site, reducing the bulk and scale of the house and allowing it to sit sympathetically within the streetscape.

In order to get the most out of its siting, the built form is pushed to the boundaries, creating a large, north facing internal courtyard surrounded by the main living spaces on the ground floor, and a separate dormitory zone on the first floor. Oversized blade screens located on the front façade are a key feature of the house, designed to transform the program from a secure, introverted space to an open and engaging entertaining area by activating the street frontage.

The appearance of this beach house is purposefully very linear in nature, characterised by building elements aligning at strict heights and junctions, emphasising the secure ‘bunker’ look and feel of the house. Oversized masonry walls replicate this language and are used as both wayfinding and to define the different spaces, both internally and externally. The materials are brutal and hard wearing, with natural steel and earth finishes designed to age and weather in place over time. Thin blade cappings and roofs provide a juxtaposition to the otherwise very heavy material choice, and a timber lined interior create a contrasting warm and welcoming environment for the occupants.