Project Phillip Island

Project Phillip Island is a modular home set on a windswept hillside above Bass Strait at Ventnor, designed to let an exposed coastal site be experienced in all its moods. The often extreme winds shaped the response: the house works as a barrier, sheltering an external courtyard tucked in behind, while internal and external living spaces are arranged to offer protection at different times of the day and year without losing the views.

On approach the home reads as two simple volumes, one clad in Pacific teak timber and the other in zinc. The contrasting materials weather over time, giving a warm counterpoint to the wild setting. Timber wraps the entry and garage to enclose a courtyard and pool, a further haven from the wind, while the zinc-clad main house stretches across the site and follows the contours of the land.

The four-bedroom plan is organised around a central kitchen, living and dining space, with generous glazing capturing views from the sandy beach to the west to the rocky heads to the south. The kitchen sits at the heart of the home as the link between indoor and outdoor living. At 300 square metres the design works as an efficient holiday home that flexes for extended family: a large rumpus room can be screened off from the bunk beds to form an extra room, and the private master suite is separated by a glazed linking space with sliding timber screens. A bath positioned to look out over the untamed coastline answers the clients' brief for a quiet retreat from Melbourne life.

Completed in 2017. Design and build by Modscape with Modbotics. Photography by John Madden.