The Grandview Drive house was designed by Deicke Richards is a small holiday residence on a long, narrow and steep site facing east towards the ocean in Coolum. The site of Grandview Drive Residence is visually prominent from a number of locations within Coolum and the house responds to the slope and vegetation without dominating the area. The site falls away to the east in front of the Coolum water reservoir on a steep hill with a number of brushbox tree groupings, sandstone boulders and outcrops.

The house caters well for a family on a relaxed vacation. Using the house is intuitive and it is simple to open up and close down between stays. Surrounding this is an eclectic mix of detached dwellings. In response the house is a low, lightweight articulated dwelling within the existing tree line. Adjustments to the existing landform were minimised to create a natural setting for the building. The main entry to the house is from the west and a secondary pedestrian access to the east, consistent with the adjoining dwellings.

A significant amount of time with structural engineers and the builder simplified the framing system for the dwelling and mitigated the visual impact of the exposed floor structure. Careful management of building costs through documentation, the tender process and contractual administration contained project costs within the client’s expectations.

Effective natural ventilation was achieved through aggregated massing, generous openings between rooms and high level ventilation. Timber resources were managed responsibly through the use of treated and painted exposed pine framing. Exposed decks are framed and decked in hardwood to decrease life cycle costs. A rainwater tank was also installed.

The interior of the house is simple and warm with carefully integrated joinery and seating. The functional brief was for a flexible three bedroom two bathroom home with a single living area and associated utility spaces. Bedroom and bathroom storage areas have open shelving and accessible space for luggage after unpacking.

A series of stairs leads from the top of the site through the house to access viewing areas beyond. Along this route are bookshelves and resting places that allow multiple uses of this important circulation area. Windows and internal openings provide a sequence of diagonal views across rooms that gradually reveal the house and landscape beyond. A sliding glass door to the main living area provides transparent wind protection to the deck when extended beyond the building line.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 at 4:28 pm and is filed under Home Design Ideas. Tags: Australia Building, Australia house, Building engineering, Construction, Coolum Beach Queensland, Framing, Grandview Drive Residence, Heating ventilating and air conditioning, Hospitality/Recreation, Single-family detached home, steep site, Structural system, sustainable building. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.