Sorrento House.

CategoryResidential

Year2005

StateVictoria

CitySorrento

PhotographerDerek Swalwell

The Sorrento House has been designed for a retired couple as a holiday house and a place they and their extended family can retreat from urban life. The idea of privacy was achieved through using the building itself as a tool for the occupants to turn their back on the street. This is expressed in the L-shaped plan form that is punctuated by a rusting steel box which addresses the street corner and rests in a rugged and resilient coastal type of landscape.

The same expression of resilience was connected back to the building by its own use of material, selected to have a long life and deal with the weather conditions in a similar manner as the landscape. The private open space, revealed only to the occupants is a plush environment, the old basin landform was lined with turf, extending the living room with a large deck, pool and outside fireplace as a transitional space.