Vision Magazine
10
by a seemingly uninterrupted sequence of external spaces. If the house was a metaphor of this landscape, then the sheltered courtyard acts as the bay protected by the curvaceous arm of the lounge as it extends around it. How crucial is the courtyard? The cranked plan provides this sheltered courtyard that faces north and it’s really like an arm that provides an embrace. The owners love the shape and what it offers. It’s much more exaggerated in real life than on the plan. The crank enabled greater separation between this hous e and the heritage house immediately to the north. It provided better context and an opportunity to attract more northerly light than otherwise possible. You overcome the one-trick pony hero vista with a series of fragmented views and slot windows. That’s handled horizontally and vertically – especially with that huge vertical window viewed from the staircase. That window really reminds me of Fred Williams’ painting because it reveals all aspects of the sky with the landscape in the distance and in the foreground. To see from earth to sky almost as 180 degrees is an amazing view and to do that mullion-less is quite an achievement. Your insistence on this tall single section makes it that much more unobtrusive. At the top of the stairs you look to the right and get this view positioned in such a way to reveal this horizontal distant view that contrasts that extraordinary piece of vertical glass rising up from the foot of the stairs. Because of building height limits we had a constricted ceiling and building envelope but hopefully that window adds to the experience.
Viridian’s energy efficient ComfortPlusTM and ThermoTechTM insulated glass units incorporating Low E are a crucial part of the design vocabulary. It’s a language of rare environmental eloquence. Circulation up and down the main staircase for instance could become a daily drudge, but Simonian makes it a pleasure with a soaring, five-metre tall window that yields a vista he describes as resembling a Fred Williams canvas on the vertical. The result is a tall sky and softly cascading light captured in a single, uninterrupted frame. At the top of the stairs another window awaits – this one shapes the eye on the horizontal to edit neighbouring rooftops and open towards the sea and emerald headland. The Palm Beach House feels convincing. It feels right. If its owners reaction is anything to go by then the architect has delivered more than they could have hoped for. They admit to being demanding clients and yet Simonian praises their contribution to the process. He tells Vision’s Peter Hyatt how his design lifts its sights beyond the obvious. What was your response upon first site visit? I thought it was fantastic. The allotment sat on the ocean side of a knife-edge ridge road. To the east there is a wildly changing view of Whale Beach, and west, a calmer bay. Do you recall any specific client challenges? They asked: ‘Will it be like standing on the edge of a cliff?’ We responded: ‘Yes it will’. We shared the idea that accentuated the feeling of being on the edge. Glass is really integral to that sense of such an exceptional vantage point offered high above the ocean. The site is demanding. It’s steep and quite small and so the temptation must have been to fully cover it with house and yet you resisted. You found space. Space is critical and reflects how the house responds. The site provides a fluid bridge between the two outlooks – east and west – and is represented in the built form both in plan and section. Despite the topography, the entry, living areas, courtyard and rear gardens are connected
Right Sweep of retractable glazing produces effortless circulation.
Ocean Pearl