Located on the traditional land of the Yuin People, Bermagui Beach House by Winter Architecture showcases the adaptability of masonry and how it connects the interiors and architecture with the landscape and water beyond.
Melbourne-based firm Winter Architecture sought to unify the relationship between the client and their surrounding environment through a thoughtful and sympathetic design. In this exclusive film series in partnership with Brickworks, architects Jean Graham and Helen Pallot take us on a private tour through Bermagui Beach House. Together they unveil a tranquil coastal holiday home fit for extended family that is both sensitive and hard-wearing, courtesy of a tactile material palette that explores the versatility of masonry materials.
In partnership with Brickworks
The sand-coloured GB Masonry from Brickworks creates a solid foundation for furnishings throughout the home. The dining space features the Johansen table by Mads Johansen and Moller #77 chair, while the living area is designed around the custom sofa and Oblica Ergo Focus suspended fireplace.
“The materiality will age over time – the steel and the timber blend well together, and the masonry extending internally to externally allows for that seamless relationship and timeless grounded nature.”
– Winter Architecture Director Jean Graham
The beach house overlooks Bermagui Beach on New South Wales’s Sapphire Coast, perched on a clifftop bordering Bermagui’s famed Blue Pools. Winter Architecture were brought on board to reinvent an existing weatherboard shack that had been in the family for decades. “I feel like we were able to tap into the spirit and the story of why the family come to Bermagui,” Jean says.
With this classic style of Australian architecture front of mind, the beach house was completely redesigned, fusing informal character with clean minimalism. A timber-clad exterior envelopes the structure, while blockwork from Brickworks becomes the primary material that continues the flow from the exterior to the interior. The blockwork also forms the foundation within the coastal home and works cohesively with the openings on each façade that embrace the proximity to the lush, native landscaping. “The materiality will age over time. The steel and the timber blend well together, and the masonry extending internally to externally allows for that seamless relationship and timeless, grounded nature,” Jean explains. The structure features three pavilions and sits on the rear boundary of the site to engage the full scope of the landscaping while orientating to the ocean vistas.
“I think the way that the blockwork has been used on the flooring is one of my favourite elements – there could be kids running in and out, wet or dry, sandy or muddy and the materiality has been able to take that on.”
– Winter Architecture Associate Director Helen Pallot
GB Smooth in Porcelain with a smooth finish seamlessly connects the interior.
At the northernmost point, the main living pavilion centres itself toward the views. An open-plan kitchen spills into the dining, dropping into the living room with a sofa filling the space. Designed with ample room for extended family to join year-round, an Obliqa Ergo Focus suspended fireplace anchors the room.
This sentiment of bringing people together is echoed in the addition of a guest pavilion, connecting to the main building through a glazed link. Flexible rooms can turn into guest bedrooms, opening to the sheltered courtyards, while the palette of silver timber and white tiles continues throughout the beach house.
The Bermagui Beach House exterior features darker, durable timber cladding, set to weather and age in time and evocative of the raw dune-like landscape. However, the light paving begins outside, connecting to the interior in a deliberate consciousness of contemplative spaces and purposeful transitions.
As Winter Architecture narrates, this is a home to be explored entirely barefoot. Bermagui Beach House is a calming counterpoint to the rugged coastal environment and a restorative base for family getaways. “When you think of a Summer holiday, and you think of those beautiful moments, this is the place setting where you would have those moments, where you can feel like part of the sea,” Helen says.
In the bathroom, Brodware tapware adorns the Wood & Water custom timber bath.
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