Manly Beach House is located on the edge of an intimate harbourside beach at the base of an escarpment between the beach and the road above. There was an existing mid-century brick home on the site that was retained for its character and form, and as a reminder of the past. The original home however was not suitable to contemporary family life in either its proportions, or in the way it related to its beautiful surrounds. Of great benefit however was its close proximity to the edge of the beach which for this area, provides an unequalled sense of connection to the water.

The challenges were how to create an arrival experience from the street, 5 storeys above the level of the living room, how to create an indoor-outdoor living arrangement, and how to bring contemporary room proportions to the project. Our design took the existing house and its relationship to the beach as a given, then built the project around this key element. A small courtyard was created behind the original house to allow the old house to retain its prominence while bringing sunlight into the centre of the site. Each of the key living spaces including a new outdoor living room, are organised around the courtyard to create a connected ground plane that facilitates family life.

The site was excavated to extend the ground plane to include a pool and terraced landscaped gardens creating a series of visually connected spaces from the escarpment behind the pool, through the outdoor room, the courtyard, the original living, the front terrace and then the beach. The bedrooms are located on the first floor with a central stair and void over the kitchen providing connection between the living areas and bedroom quarters. A new loft above provides a second living area with terrace that captures elevated views over the harbour. An existing studio and garage have been re-fit internally and its balcony extended to enable outdoor entertaining with views over the harbour.

A commercial grade lift connects the street entry with the studio and ground floor delivering visitors into an unexpected sandstone cavern before entering the home proper. The materiality of the project draws upon the painted white brick of the existing home, then fuses this with the beachy tones of sandstone and light timbers to create a light and neutral canvas that compliments the marine tones of the harbour and the lush landscape of Forty Baskets Beach.