Seaforth House
Seaforth House is located in Northern Beaches Sydney. It is on a quiet street on a hillside in close proximity to Middle Harbor, Seaforth, offering magnificent views to the south. The design maximized the landscape of the site, taking full advantage of the views facing the harbor and the sunlight from the north.
The house is positioned on a sloped hillside so that only one-third of the major body is visible from the street. The timber-clad façade harmonizes with the site’s natural plantation as the house modestly blends into the street’s landscape. Passing through the front gate, one is immediately faced with a breathtaking landscape of harbor views.
Photography By© ZENG Zhe
The house’s central design aesthetic is comprised of two wooden boxes – one large and one small. The two ‘boxes’ are the major structural components of the house. The large box holds the living areas and three bedrooms while the smaller box holds the garage and one bedroom.
The house is orientated to the south to capture the splendid harbor views – but in order to capture the natural sunlight from the north, the large ‘box’ was built with a width of only seven meters from north to south, using full height windows with adjustable external louvres to maximize internal light. The living room is at street level, whereas the bedrooms are positioned on the lower level below, designed with sliding windows on the north and south sides, enhancing natural ventilation and illuminating the house.
Photography By© ZENG Zhe
The outdoor entertaining area is paved with timber decking and is the most enjoyable entertaining and relaxation space of the house. The feature of the entertaining area is a 19 metre long swimming pool that stretches from the shadowed part underneath the cantilever major body to the open area bathing in sunlight. The stone-pebble path next to the pool acts as part of the landscape and a maintenance corridor to the garden where a raised plant box has been placed to provide a stylish backyard garden, as well as a boundary and privacy screen .
Photography By© ZENG Zhe
Project Info
Architects: IAPA
Location: Sydney, Australia
Design Team: Paul Peng、Yen Hu、Stoney Yu、Jenny wang、Jessica Paterso
Status: Completed
Type: Residential
Size: covers an area of 700 m², the total use area of 300m²
