Water's Edge with Stone Covers Exterior & Interior by SAOTA

Date of Publishing: May 20, 2024

Contents

Architecture Design of Water’s Edge House

Description About The Project

SAOTA & TKD presents Water’s Edge, a residential project in a unique position. It overlooks the Sydney harbour, which guided every design choice, from the orientation and organisation of living spaces and outlooks to the material palette and landscaping.

The brief to create a distinctive multilevel family home required joining together three erven. This gave the team an expansive footprint to work with and offered a lot of creative scope. It also posed various challenges, one of the most crucial being to minimise the villa’s profile to ensure the surrounding properties’ views weren’t impeded and that the neighbourhood’s unique modestly scaled residential character was preserved. A sensitive approach – which entailed lowering the building into the landscape and maintaining generous setbacks – led to a subtle and modest appearance from the street, a perspective that belies the boldly sculpted stone form, distinctive façade and cantilevered living areas visible from the harbour side.

The villa was designed to reflect the setting, both the nearby suburb and the broader Sydney Harbour. SAOTA principal Philip Olmesdahl used the context – its grandeur and scale – to guide the shape and materials of the building. The horizontal characteristics of the expansive ocean horizon prompted the design’s linear arrangement along the site and extended chamfered planes, which serve to mirror the relationship with the coastline and optimise the views from all areas. The Lava stone cladding allows the building to blend immediately with the landscape, while the warm material palette used throughout the rest of the exterior façade – Honed Mount White Sandstone (a typical vernacular material), Weathered Copper and Bronze Aluminium – is informed by the tones and textures of the sandstone cliff edges that line Sydney Harbour.

The discreet and private arrival sequence unfolds gradually – the lushly landscaped forecourt giving way to a soaring porte-cochère resting on chamfered stone columns that guide visitors into the villa. Once inside, dramatic double-volume spaces are defined by muscular carved white sandstone columns that support the roof – like trees supporting a canopy – and full-height glazing that frames the iconic harbour views. In the same way that the form of house is inextricably linked to the setting, the indoor spaces maximise a conversation with the setting; living areas are situated on the ground floor to flow outdoors and bedrooms on the top level for optimal views and privacy. In the living room, the solidity of the stone columns and grand scale of the spaces is countered by delicately patterned and perforated copper screens – which filter natural light softly in and allude to the surrounding foliage.

The Architecture Design Project Information:

Project Name: Water’s Edge House
Location: Sydney, Australia
Project Year: 2023
Site Area: 43 002 m²
Project Area: 14 402 m²
Designed by: SAOTA

Water's Edge with Stone Covers Exterior & Interior by SAOTA — As the architecture speaks to the context, so the landscaping echoes the boldness of the architecture. Strikingly executed by Myles Baldwin, the landscaping was central to the project. Here, rare native Australian species, large specimens and sculptural tropical plants echo the scale of the site and the structure, giving the garden a fitting sense of establishment. Pools that cascade down direct you towards the harbour and speak to the project’s celebration of the setting.

Descending external terraces from the main villa are designed to take maximum advantage of views and always be sheltered from the elements.

Stone walls create a dramatic statement in the cellar.

The driveway to the home is lined with established trees and native species.

The house has a sculpted stone form that leads to the front door and foyer. From the foyer, views of the water and a tree are visible.

Partially hidden from view from the street, the home, which is located in a historical suburb, sits behind a row of plants and a fence with a unique artistic gate.

A path leads down to a built-in seating area by the water’s edge.

Outside there’s an outdoor living room surrounded by landscaping.

The Water’s Edge House Gallery:

Text by the Architects: Located in a historical suburb in a treed residential enclave close to Sydney’s central business district, this project’s unique position overlooking the harbour guided every design choice, from the orientation and organisation of living spaces and outlooks to the material palette and landscaping. Creating a continuous interface with the water was critical, as was maximising the ocean views, while maintaining optimum privacy.

Photo credit: Tom Ferguson | Source: SAOTA

For more information about this project; please contact the Architecture firm :
– Add: 109 Hatfield Street, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001
– Tel: +27 (0)21 468 4400
– Email: info@saota.com