PANORAMA

Would you love a house on the beach or near water? Waking up in the morning to the sound of ocean, looking out of your living room to find dolphins feeding, walking out of your door for crabbing in your backyard, having meals in your outdoor terrace seeing sunsets, all sounds great. However, in a lot of scenario with such ‘perfect’ conditions also comes with dangers and difficulties as a consequence of surrounding nature. Natural disaster like flooding is realistic near water sites. Strong winds and salt damage is also prominent and require solutions. Overheating from the sun while remaining open and accommodating of the views are a must. How can we create a living environment which takes full advantage of the natural beauty of the site but also with its challenges? The project aims to tackle this conundrum with unique geometry of the building and architectural features to find the best possible living environment for the client. The proposal was developed through distilling process from initial sketch ideas to the current proposal. The study was conducted at the start in how best to situate the building on site in which form. Feedback from the clients were vital to the development of this process as we did not have direct access to the site. Multiple versions of proposals were studied in digital 3D modelling as well as plan drawings. Discussions were held with the local architect regarding meeting local regulations.

This projects sites the building at the tip of their site, as far out as regulation allows it. The building fans out towards North East of their property taking in the best panoramic view of the ocean. To address the potential flooding in the area, the building is raised above ground level, making it a 3-storey building. The linear design allows for open living spaces at the top and all bedrooms with views to the open ocean. Outdoor entertaining areas are stacked vertically at the Eastern end of the building to maximise the warm climate but creating two distinctive spaces which client can utilise depending on the whether condition, time of day, season etc. The South-West elevation of the building employs more solid walls and shutters to better control heat gain from the sun, at the same time provides privacy to the residents. The project needs further investigation into structure and MEP as well as materiality to bring the proposal closer to realisation.