RYE Beach
This project is a private weekend beach house in Rye, a small beach town located on the Mornington
Peninsula in Victoria. The site is covered with native Moonah trees, whose twisted branches filter
the summer sun.
When the building is unoccupied, the northern and southern facades are completely closed, presenting a blank, corrugated bronze façade to the street, in the manner of a rural farm shed set within a vegetated landscape. When the building is occupied, the façade screens are opened, visually connecting the public interior spaces with the surrounding landscape, providing the residents with a sense of inclusion and openness.
The Plan is split into two halves, one containing the ‘public’ living areas and the other containing the ‘private’ bathing and sleeping areas. Being a holiday house, we sought to reduce all functions to the bare essentials, providing simple washing and cooking facilities and a small bedroom, placing the focus upon the communal living areas. This approach ensured that the lived experience remained
closer to the experience of camping than dwelling.
