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Project Details:

Location: Walkerville North, Australia

Architect: Imogen Pullar Architecture / @ip_architecture

Footprint: 475 square feet

Builder: MVH Constructions

Structural Engineer: Deery Consulting

Landscape Design: McNuttnDorff Landscapes

Stylist: Jess Kneebone / @jesskneebone

Photographer: Marnie Hawson / @marniehawson

Mural Artists: April Philips Beci Orpin, Carla McRae, David Booth

Fromm the Architect: "The concept was to provide the essentials of living, a place to rest the mind and body, and connect with nature. It's not a tiny house, but it's not a full beach house. It is a luxurious minimal retreat, perfectly sized for one or two people with the ability to expand to sleep five.

"With the small footprint, we were able to strip away the unnecessary elements of a typical house (i.e. entry foyers, hallways, bedrooms) and provide shelter in its purest form—somewhere to cook, somewhere to bathe, somewhere to rest—all within the one volume of space.

"The small footprint also means that there is minimal impact on the site and the environment as a whole. The space does not feel ‘small’ or tight, however. Tall, raked ceilings give a sense of openness, a single internal material—white washed radiata pine plywood—wraps around the interior walls, floors, and cabinetry, reducing the visual clutter of the interior space. The large deck is a platform for living outside, where one can experience this unique place, the expansive views to Waratah Bay and Wilson Promontory beyond.

"Creating a small footprint retreat of only the essentials of living was quite a challenge on this site. A Bushfire attack level of flame zone to most of the site, steep terrain, site erosion, the highly corrosive marine environment, and no connection to town water supply or sewerage meant the house needed to be robust, self-sufficient in terms of water use, and designed to work within the challenging landscape.

"On top of these challenges, we set our own brief to create a healthy, comfortable, and energy efficient home by incorporating low toxicity materials, continuous and complete insulation around the entire envelope of the house, vapor permeable air tight wraps, all timber construction, and a heat recovery ventilation system that provides fresh filtered air to the building continuously to maintain healthy indoor air quality. Active heating and cooling is only needed in extreme weather conditions with the windows providing solar gains in winter, and cooling breezes in summer. The airtight wraps and insulation help maintain comfortable temperatures in the cooler evenings."