Located along the seaside stretch of the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Ocean House embraces the coastal aesthetic, incorporating the earthy tones of sandstone, the flecks of bluestone and greys found in rocks along the beach, and the bark of local eucalyptus. The surrounding architecture is beach box, timber clad vernacular, so the idea was not to connect but do our own thing.
In tune with the coastal landscape, materials like rock walling soften the facade, while greenery creates pockets of landscape within the architecture and around it. The architectural form is quiet to the street, but inside there’s a lot happening. Situated on an exposed corner block on a main road, the challenge was to embrace views while creating privacy. Our approach was to vary the heights of the boundary walls and set the building back, developing a language through material and landscape. Working with a large building it needed to integrate into the site, so by maximising the external area we’ve created layers of landscaping to temper the scale and soften it.
Tough coastal plants like olive trees and succulents were selected for the upper floors where the weather is harsher. Within the internal atrium spaces and on lower levels, rainforest plants add a lushness and depth in colour where light is softer. Layering the architectural form with tiered garden spaces, green walls and roofs, now defines a textural building, reducing the scale through tempered raw materials and abundant plantings to create a private oasis connected to the landscape, sky and ocean.
