Corlette House

Our clients previously owned a north–facing waterfront apartment with magnificent views of Port Stephens. Unfortunately, during summer the predominantly northern wind, made the north facing balcony virtually unusable. Consequently, when it came time for our clients to retire and move permanently to Port Stephens, they bought a long and relatively narrow, west facing waterfront site on which to build a new purpose–built home.

The challenge was to design a home that allowed direct access and views from the main living areas to the west facing waterfront, provide outdoor covered spaces for entertaining and incorporate 5 bedrooms and multiple living areas as well as an art studio and double garage, whilst ensuring privacy, solar access to all living areas and protection from the summer western sun. The solution was to design a C–shaped building which created a private, north facing garden which was enclosed by the surrounding building to the west, south and east. The western 2–storey portion of the building was afforded views to the west and direct access to the waterfront, but also opened up on to the central garden, providing an array of outlooks and spaces for entertaining, as well as promoting cross–ventilation and ensuring that the living spaces were light filled.

Site Location: Corlette | Port Stephens | NSW

Architect: JCB Design Partnership in collaboration with Grice Lynch Architecture + Interiors

Project Architect: Campbell Baird

Interior Design: Grice Lynch Architecture + Interiors

Project Team: Campbell Baird | Wendy Lynch | Sarah Grice | Rebecca Martin

Builder: Rob Cains Building Pty Ltd

Structural Engineer: Alba + Associates

Landscape Design: Will Dangar + Associates