W Residence, Mermaid Beach

A new luxury, private residence for a "beachside", north facing lot on the Gold Coast.

The owners, a professional couple, were relocating from acreage and wanted to maintain the sense of space and privacy they had previously enjoyed, on a relatively small lot.

The brief called for a separation of multi-purpose living areas, all opening out to external areas, and interconnected so that various activities could occur without interruption, as well as passive solar control and natural ventilation to provide year round comfort.

Additionally, studies, guest and children's bedrooms, and a lap pool were required.

The formal entry leads to an open plan living and dining area that then connects to outdoor living and entertaining areas at both the front and rear of the home. These internal and external living areas connect to a granite and timber kitchen that forms a hub between the "formal" areas and the family room while providing opportunity to relate to and supervise the pool and rear entertaining areas.

Stairs to the upper level intersect with a discrete ground level hall, acting as a chimney assisting natural ventilation through the residence.

The upper level has a large study area and master suite, both opening to a balcony to utilise the north-eastern aspect and capture ocean views.

Articulation of the building forms maximised the solar access to the passive and active recreational spaces around the residence, while minimising the impacts on adjoining properties. Stepping in the floor plan overcame conflict between the desire to achieve ocean views and the requirement for privacy.

After a chance meeting in 2001(having lost my way to the office of another architect!), I had little hesitation in asking John to design and supervise the building of our proposed new home at Mermaid Beach. Despite his very relaxed manner on that first meeting, it was quickly evident that he possessed the very combination of design flair, technical expertise and excellent communication skills that I had been looking for.

John remained available and accessible throughout the design and building process. He made every effort to satisfy the criteria my husband and I had established for the project, and listened carefully when we wanted to incorporate some of our own ideas into the house design.

With John’s supervision and assistance, we moved smoothly through the various stages of concept drawings and design, followed by building contracts and the construction phase. The project was finished within the predicted time frame and with very little cost “blow-out”. John had respected our ideas, our needs and our budget!

I would be happy to recommend John and his architectural services to others.

Susan and John W, Mermaid Beach

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