Venus Bay Beach House / MRTN Architects

Architects: MRTN Architects
Location: Venus Bay VIC, Australia
Architect In Charge: Antony Martin
Area: 110 sqm
Year: 2012
Photographs: Nic Granleese

Builder: Wayne Newton, Adobe Construction
Structural Engineer: Paul Deery
Builder Certifer: Tim Blankenstein

From the architect. The client’s needs were fairly straightforward. A holiday home for them and their three children, an easy to maintain and robust house, and enough space so that another family could came and stay as well. The challenge lay in providing the accommodation and living space required for a limited and tight budget.

The site presented many challenges. A steep site and narrows towards the road limiting space at the top of the site for access and services. Venus Bay can fairly exposed to the predominant south-westerly winds in the area and can be quite cold and wet in Winter. The area is also subject to a Wildfire Overlay as part of the planning permit process.

Venus bay is located on the Cape Liptrap coast two hours from Melbourne. It can be a pretty wild bit of coast with a predominant south-westerly wind. The site is on a steep section of land and was subject to a wild fire rating which resulted in the house being constructed with a BAL 29.

Built on a tight budget the plan was kept even tighter to provide 4 bedrooms and variety of living spaces. This was achieved by stepping the plan down the steep site and by keeping the level changes at one metre or less so that no balustrades were required resulting in an open tiered floor plan.

A key space is the oversized, for the house, covered outdoor deck that faces north east and so provides a sunny, protected space to play and perform as well as a deep shading overhang to the interior.

This family holiday house is designed to provide place of retreat from the city.