Located on the edge of a lake on the Central Coast of NSW, the site for Pindimar Lake House is level and covered in mature paper bark and eucalyptus trees.
Casey Brown Architects’ brief was to design a simple yet spirited holiday encampment for a young family that would blend with the surrounding natural environment.
The plan is a cluster of seven pavilions raised on a platform to avoid flooding and centred on an open court.
The pavilions nestle under the existing tree canopy with a large two way fireplace anchoring the central court.
Conceived as a cluster of sheds or tents, the simple mono pitched roofs minimise their presence while letting in sun and breezes between the buildings.
The challenges of swamp-like soil conditions, tidal surges and bushfires have resulted in a structure of entirely recycled and naturally fire-retardant timbers.
The structure is built on piles creating a platform one metre above ground.
All the timbers are designed to fade to a mellow grey matching the surrounding trees
The pavilions collect and store their own water in four large above-ground tanks, two of which are kept for fire-fighting.
Waste is treated on site with an Envirocycle system.
The two-sided central fireplace made from off form concrete heats both the main living pavilion and the central court.
And cooling is achieved by sliding walls, opening louvres, and electric ceiling fans.
Project Details
Completion Date – 2007
Building Levels – 1
Project Details
Architecture
Casey Brown Architects
Founded in 1986, Casey Brown Architecture is an architectural studio based in Sydney with over 100 built projects across Australia. They are a design-led studio devoted to creating contemporary architecture through an organic understanding of building.
The practice designs in direct response to climate, topography and lifestyle.
This perspective creates a preference for lasting architecture of unpretentious functionalism, characterised by a richness of palette and detail throughout.
Casey Brown Architecture seeks to solve problems and transcend solutions to create memorable spaces.
Photography
Rob Brown
Rob Brown is an architect with a passion for crafted buildings inventively responsive to the environmental context through architecture of the highest standard in liveability, spatial joy, and enduring materiality.
Photo Gallery
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Design © 2021 Casey Brown Architecture. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2021 Rob Brown. All Rights Reserved.
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