Dune House

Nestled amongst sand dunes, this magnificent holiday home features oiled cedar for both wall and ceiling planes, integrated with Moroccan limestone, to mimic the tone of the sand and blend inconspicuously into its surroundings.

The site provides spectacular views overlooking a golf course and the ocean, which also gave Julian Guthrie Architects the challenge of designing for strong winds and harsh dune conditions. The timber and finishing choices not only make the home feel like part of the landscape, they also provide the necessary qualities required to withstand the elements.

To further respond to these challenging conditions, the design response was to set the building low into the land, with flat timber roofs cantilevering out to form generous covered verandah zones.

The layout breaks the house area into separate wings for living and sleeping zones, creating a series of sheltered courtyard spaces between. Colour accents come through with rusted corten steel, and the peacock blues of the pool. Landscaping responds to the dune setting with desert plants, and enhances the references to mid-century American modernism in the architecture.

Design: Julian Guthrie Architects

Materials by RK Timbers:

Western red cedar vertical shiplap weatherboards supplied in a set pattern of varied widths and depths.

Laminated extra wide fascia boards in Western red cedar.

All with a bandsawn face and coated in Dryden WoodOil Dry Hills.

Ceiling and soffit panelling done in hidden fixed Western red cedar.

Extruded and powder-coated aluminium flashings to junctions.

Interset recessed window flashing system.

Cavity battens and fixings.

Garapa hardwood decking.