Wings Way

Wings Way

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Resilience and endurance were at the forefront of the minds of the family at Wings Way in Skene’s Creek. Having lost their original, much loved, family home to fire they needed the replacement design to provide a sense of safety and permanence that was missing from the fibre cement clad seventies home that preceded it. The new home was designed to meet stringent regulations both for the extremely high threat of upslope bushfire attack and the steep site location and risk of landslide. It also needed to endure the extreme weather conditions given its highly exposed coastal location. Designed in two wings, a bedroom wing and a living wing, separated by generous entryway that connects form front to rear. The separated nature of the plan suits the multi-generational family who use it but also provides a cellular protection from the predominant fire threat direction. Internally and externally the walls are constructed from concrete block, standard grey block externally and a honed block internally, which provide the necessary BAL rating but also reduced the number of trades required on site in this hard to get to location.

Resilience and endurance were at the forefront of the minds of the family at Wings Way in Skene’s Creek. Read more

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beach house lifestyle contemporary house wings way new build

Project team

MRTN Architects
Tom Blachford

Contemporary family residence designed for resilience and safety in Skene’s Creek, featuring two wings and robust construction to withstand bushfire threats and extreme coastal weather.

The new home was designed to meet stringent regulations both for the extremely high threat of upslope bushfire attack and the steep site location and risk of landslide. It also needed to endure the extreme weather conditions given its highly exposed coastal location.

Designed in two wings, a bedroom wing and a living wing, separated by generous entryway that connects form front to rear. The separated nature of the plan suits the multi-generational family who use it but also provides a cellular protection from the predominant fire threat direction. Internally and externally the walls are constructed from concrete block, standard grey block externally and a honed block internally, which provide the necessary BAL rating but also reduced the number of trades required on site in this hard to get to location.

Completed: 2020
Price range: $1m - $2m
Building style: Contemporary

4771h 18m

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Professional Reviews

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“We’re looking for a result that is practical, aesthetically pleasing and distinctive. As we had carefully selected a site with unusual features, we sought a design that would draw them out. We’ve been delighted by Antony’s capacity to do exactly that, while keeping us closely involved in the process. We were thrilled with the final design. We also hope that our architect would shield us from the project management process while respecting our budget and keeping us in the loop. Antony managed town planning and then the selection of the contractor very well, ensuring both quality and realistic pricing. We are now half-way through the build and are very pleased to see that the process is working smoothly due, to a large extent, by his skill in communicating with both the builder and ourselves. At the practical level, we sought an architect who was experienced in building for the conditions on the coast, who was linked to local contractors, knew the local planning and building scene, and understood the local community and the rhythm of coastal life. We wanted a small firm where the principal was hands-on in both design development and the management of the project. We were also pleased to find in Antony someone whose professional work had been shaped by working in a large, disciplined firm in Australia and also in the tough New York apartment market, with its notoriously demanding clients. We were attracted by his success in bringing an international design perspective to the Australian context, demonstrated by the recognition he has won from his profession. We recognise that designing and building a home is an intensely personal project requiring an architect to add the skill of mind-reading to his or her repertoire. Antony has demonstrated that he has this skill and, with his excellent team, has been a delight to work with. He understands our own golden rule of ‘no surprises' and has been graciously accepting of our particular idiosyncrasies. Construction of our house is now entering its final phase and, thanks to Antony’s work, we’re looking forward to a very pleasing result.”

Nick and Jane, clients of the Hide House in Venus Bay