Sandringham House

Tonkin Zulaikha Greer
Australia

Sandringham House is a split-level home for intergenerational living that responds to an exposed southerly aspect and its sandy surrounds. Across the road from Lady Robinson Beach, between the mouth of the Cooks and Georges River in Botany Bay, the house is sited on a narrow block with a north-south orientation. The house is expressed in sand toned Krause bricks that speak to the wind-swept dunes of Botany Bay. The curvilinear cutaway achieves massing that responds to post-war brick bungalows lining the street.

The importance of family, community and cultural heritage to the client is reflected in the architecture. Multiple living spaces, terraces and gardens are built around the pool providing protection from the wind while offering large spaces for regular gatherings of forty or more.

The integrity and conceptual clarity of the house extends from its massing to its detail. This is typified by the structural concrete ceiling of the living room. Recessed lights are housed in reliefs with forms influenced by local Botany Bay seashells and arranged with reference to geometric patterning and iconography. Here, and throughout Sandringham House, contextual and cultural relevance drives the design for both the client and the built fabric of Sandringham more broadly.

 

Furniture: Ribs Bench, Design by Them, Great Dane. Lighting: Planet Lighting, Kingston, Tovo Lighting, Lumena, Cult Design, Louis Poulsen, Cult Design, Henry Wilson, Henry Wilson, Great Dane. Finishes: Krause Bricks, Krause. Fittings & Fixtures: Artusi BBQ, Winnings, Breville, Winnings, Miele, Winnings, Curve Pull, Lo & Co, Halo, Brodware, Roger Seller, Astrawalker.

 

Photography: Cieran Murphy