Eastern
promise
Light-filled, yet private, this
home reflects a strong
Asian sensibility
Top: Stepped terracotta tile roofs,
including two pop-up lantern roofs,
give the impression of a whole
village in this Eastern-style coastal
home by architect Walter Barda.
Above and right: A mature frangipani
tree provides a focal point in the
entry courtyard and can be enjoyed
from indoors as well. The Asian
concept of layering views is one of
the principles behind the design.
18
Sometimes getting away from it all doesn’t
require a long journey. It can be as simple as
coming back home and closing the front door.
The owners of this house asked architect
Walter Barda for a design with a strong Eastern sensibility. The couple have a love of Asian
culture and wanted the many artefacts they had
collected on their travels to be incorporated into
the design, says Barda.
“Their other desire was that the design have
a private feel. In light of both requests, and to
address the narrow coastal site, I decided to
build a traditional Southeast Asian pavilionstyle home over several levels. This involved
creating six floors stepping down the cliff, a
complex task which required a sophisticated
steel structure. However, we were able to completely conceal this with panelling and authentic
Asian pieces provided by the owners.”
In the great room, the steel support posts
and spans are set within large Asian-style turned
beams, created by a local artisan. Only the post
and beam structure and the batten ceiling typical
of traditional Southeast Asian architecture is left
on show.
“It is this visible structure, together with the
museum-quality columns, doorways, carved
lintels and the owners’ furniture, that really gives
the home its oriental flavour and character.”
Entry to the home is from above, and the
two pop-up lantern roofs – one over the great
room, the other over the lift shaft – together
with the terracotta roof tiles, are an early clue to
the home’s cultural leanings. Barda says the roof
tiles were imported from France where they are
made for the repair of temple buildings in Asia.
Guests arrive through a pedestrian entrance
on the cliff side and then emerge into the openair entry courtyard before moving on into the
mixed-use great room. This is the main public
room in the house, with a master suite and guest
bedrooms on the floors below.
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