Rest House

Rest House sits by the sea at Flinders on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, where a long friendship between the clients and architects Tim Spicer and Col Bandy shaped the design. A shared love of sailing and the Victorian coastline informed the building's form: a butterfly roof that echoes a boat's hull, with angled walls that shelter the garden from the prevailing southerly winds coming off Bass Strait.

Building and landscape were planned to read as one, working with the slope of the site, the existing vegetation and the long views across the valley and out to the ocean. The house was made for an active retiring couple. The first floor holds a generous kitchen, dining and living space that opens at its eastern end onto an entertaining terrace and rear garden. At the western end, the living room steps out to a large cantilevered deck wrapped in stainless-steel mesh, a sheltered vantage point above the valley. Glazed walls draw in natural light, and sliding doors to the north, east and west tie the interior to the surrounding garden and bush.

A quiet passage links the main living space to the master bedroom and ensuite, which look over the terraced garden and the coastal landscape beyond. The fall of the land allows a ground floor below, containing two guest bedrooms, wet areas and a lock-up garage; a large water tank is built in to form the base of the terrace above.

The material palette answers the salty coastal setting. Concrete, glass, corten and galvanised steel were chosen for their durability, and the detailing is set up to bring out each material's true character and the way the structure connects.

Spanning 260 m² on a 1,000 m² site across two levels, Rest House was completed in 2013.

Architect: Tim Spicer Architects (Tim Spicer with Col Bandy). Photography: John Gollings.