Designed by Matt Williams Architects, the Dolphin Sands Studio project began with the practice helping their clients assess and select a suitable site.
The site selection process was conducted in close collaboration with their clients with site selection criteria optimized for both isolation and outlook.
The Dolphin Sands Studio design was originally based on the form of a slide-viewer that’s held up to your eye, here focussing occupants on the view across Great Oyster Bay to the Freycinet Peninsula beyond.
The other idea guiding the Matt Williams Architects’ design team was that of a solid tent – a structure that provided the required shelter on such an exposed site, while maintaining the immediacy of, and connection to, the closely surrounding and greater landscape further afield.
Due to the size and arrangement of openings, this Matt Williams Architects design ensures you always feel aligned to the landscape and close to the weather.
At project commencement, the site was untouched steep vegetated dunes and low-lying areas prone to inundation.
The first step was to assess and select the locations for the Studio and future residence.
Initial planning involved resolving how to establish the required services on-site – driveway, water tank, mains power, and wastewater – in a way that minimised site disturbance and retained the dominance of the landscape.
To this end…
- The driveway was kept to the road edge and forms a loop to avoid broad turning areas
- The water tank, for domestic supply and fire-fighting, was buried beneath the driveway, to further limit site disturbance
The Studio, while located close to the road to minimise incursion into the site, is accessed via a path that works with the existing contours, closely wrapping a dune, to create separation and privacy.
The structure is lifted above the dunes, to allow it to float above the vegetation and allow fauna, mainly snakes, to move about unrestricted.
While Stage 1 of the project involved the construction of just this tiny studio building, there were significant costs associated with establishing and servicing the overall site for both the Studio and the planned future residence.
Sustainability measures deployed included the architects specifying the Surefoot footing system which avoided concrete while minimising site disturbance.
The OSB lining specified avoids plasterboard while using production waste.
And the black limestone pavers, used for the flooring, add a beautiful thermal mass inside a well-sealed, insulated envelope.
Matt Williams Architects’ clients were a creative professional couple previously based in Los Angeles.
They wanted a refuge and retreat.
The Studio was required to provide short-term (1-2 months) accommodation for travelers from overseas.
Everything needed for a visitor’s easy occupation of the site had to be in place.
From landing in Tasmania, driving the coast road, arriving on-site, and walking the winding path to the Studio, the journey is intended as one of shedding both noise and daily demands, to arrive at a place of peace and calm.
While the 36 m2 footprint is deliberately modest, the form opens in both plan and section, allowing the volume to feel expansive.
The very limited, richly-textured palette selected by the Matt Williams Architects design team created a building here that is easily read.
It readily drops into the background while subconsciously enriching the overall experience.
The clients said of the completed project:
“The design brings the experience of living in a beautifully crafted physical artwork that inspires all aspects of our life.
We love the feeling of calm and the fact that the space grounds us in the natural surroundings.
The studio gives you a feeling of reverential respect for the vision and craftsmanship mixed with joy and wonder.
Matt Williams Architects’ design goes way beyond pure functionality into a stunning visual element sitting on the edge of the Southern Ocean.
Living in the space is our personal meditation.”
Project Details
Project Size – 36 m2
Site Area – 2,000 m2
Building Levels – 1
Completion Date – 2021
Project Team
Architecture
Matt Williams Architects
Matt Williams Architects is based in Hobart, Tasmania, and provides high-quality architectural services to clients within Tasmania and nationally.
Photography
Adam Gibson
Adam combines careful composition with light-footed spontaneity to uncover the human truth.
With an eye for dramatic tension, his work reflects a life spent roaming within and beyond the wild Tasmanian landscape, responding to diverse creative briefs.
Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge.
Design © 2022 Matt Williams Architects. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2022 Adam Gibson. All Rights Reserved.
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