Coogee – separation and privacy

This new house in the built-up, beach-side suburb of Coogee, NSW, required clever management of privacy and views. Designed by Madeleine Blanchfield Architects, the house, for a young family, was to be robust, livable and light filled but with a layering of spaces that provided flexibility, separation and privacy.
Internal courtyards offer light and ventilation, operable perforated screens provide privacy from neighbours and containment, lofty spaces and muted materials were used to create a sense of openness and lightness on the long, narrow, steep and heavily overlooked site. In keeping with the brief for robustness, the house is simple and bold, with architectural features capable of withstanding some imperfections, purposefully rough-laid brickwork and stone.

Photography Robert Walsh