6a architects Coastal House

Stripped back to bare its thick stone walls, with externally insulated slate-clad facades, this early-twentieth century house has seen a complete reconfiguration of its internal volumes and a transformation of the visual and physical connections with the surrounding coastal landscape.
Previously raised on a plinth above a basement, the ground floor has been lowered to the level of the surrounding ground, elongating the existing openings. With three floors spread over the north end of the house connecting to two floors to the south, each space has a distinct volume & ceiling height, with the central stair giving clear views through the whole house across three axes.
A series of air-dried oak beams make up the exposed primary structure spanning between the existing stone, and larger structural interventions within this masonry are made in in-situ concrete, cast against timber formwork echoing the timber panelling throughout the house. New oak structure is introduced as tapered forms, from the primary drawing room column, to the external veranda posts, to the stair spindles, which are alternately splayed into the oak beams beneath for rigidity, enabling them to remain slender, maximising light & views through.