Mona Vale: Basin Beach house wins top architecture prize
A beautiful wooden house, which looks like a ‘low slung tent’ nestled in the sand dunes of Sydney’s northern beaches, has taken out the nation’s top home architecture prize.
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A house on the northern beaches described as looking like a “low slung tent” has won a prestigious Australian home design prize.
Built in the sand dunes, the Basin Beach House at Mona Vale, has been named a winner in the 2020 National Architecture Awards.
Designed by Newport architect Peter Stutchbury, the primarily wooden building was a joint winner of the Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (New).
Its owner, Jeffrey Freeman told The Australian that he was 84 years old when he asked Mr Stutchbury to design him a house.
Mr Freeman, from St Ives, has owned the property, next to Basin Beach Reserve, since 1981. It used to accommodate a 1940s fibro cottage which he and his wife used as a weekender.
After his wife died Mr Freeman decided to move to Mona Vale to be near his daughters.
“We always intended to knock the house down and build a new house here, but we never actually got around to it.”
In its official comments the jury which chose the house said it was a “site-responsive design … perched among the sandy dunes of Sydney’s northern beaches”.
“A nurturing home for an older gentleman, it demonstrates a clear synergy between client and architect, reinforcing the edict that with a terrific client often comes great architecture.
“Modest in scale, the dwelling appears as a low-slung tent draped over the rolling dunes, reaching for morning views of the Pacific Ocean.
“As if hewn from a single piece of timber, a carefully calibrated sequence of spaces moves the visitor inevitably toward the ocean outlook.
“The pared-back design demonstrates a mastery of understatement, of elegance and of delight.”
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