JPR Architects successfully won the Residential Swimming Pool Award in the International Design & Architecture Awards 2014, with their project ‘Waterfront House, Coogee – Swimming Pool’. A casual family retreat on a double block of ocean front land with strong, primitive, architectural influences and bespoke construction.
The brief was to design a home which was soft and organic in its ‘feel’ while having the precision of detail, and robustness of fabric to withstand the harshness of the seafront environment with minimal maintenance. The family enjoyed a very relaxed informal lifestyle and had enjoyed vacations in the tropics and the African bush. They wanted a home reflecting the primitive influences they felt most comfortable in. The earth-bound, rustic style of the house which evolved has its roots in the traditional Cape Dutch fishing village houses of the Southern African west coast.
The design conceived the house as a series of ‘BUNGALOWS’ of various function congregated around an entry court which seamlessly dissolved into the exterior. Embracing protective physical form is enhanced through the use of a limited and muted colour palette combined with careful blending of natural textured materials. The design works so well due to the flow of space from inside to outside which characterises the house’s atmosphere.
This was achieved through the consistent as achieved through the consistent use of rough render to both the external and internal walls and the continuity of wide timber internal flooring boards flowing uninterrupted through the full height cavity sliding timber windows to matching external timber decking.
