Hasta La Ideas

Continuing our series of stories about security-conscious and bunker-like residences, here’s an Australian holiday home that can be secured with huge sliding steel shutters.

Designed by architects Bourne Blue, the single-storey house in New South Wales surrounds a decked courtyard.

Openings in each of the facades lead to the central courtyard, where entrances to the house are located.

The corrugated metal shutters fasten across the fronts of the corridor openings, as well as around the courtyard-facing elevations.

When the shutters are open these corridors serve as external rooms, filled with hammocks and a dining table.

The openings divide the house into four blocks, separated into living rooms, a set of children’s rooms and two separate en suite bedrooms.

The house is the latest in a string of Australian houses on Dezeen – click here to see more.

Another recent story to feature steel shutters was an apartment block in New York by architect Shigeru Ban – see our earlier story.

See also: more stories about bunkers and other fortified buildings.

Photography is by Simon Whitbread.

Here are some more details from Bourne Blue Architecture:

Project Description

This site, just behind the sand dunes of Diamond Beach on the mid north coast of NSW, is very flat and has a modest view over wetlands. The proximity of the ocean would enable a beachside lifestyle, however the house couldn’t access ocean views to provide the amenity.

The design therefore needed to work in this context and provide the amenity from within. This is a holiday house for a large family, who frequently travel away with other families, so facilities for 10 – 15 people were required.

A covenant on the land dictated that the house was to built using brick and tile.

The design is comprised of four components, wrapping around a central court. Living space, two different adult sleeping areas and a kids area.

The living space has a slab for thermal mass and faces North. The two adult sleeping areas are identical parental retreats at opposite corners, while the kids area has a boys and girls bunkroom and a TV area.

Each of the four components is separated by a roofed deck, which either houses hammocks, a dining space or the entry. A monopitch roof wraps around the courtyard, over all these spaces, simplifying roof drainage and providing unity.

Click above for larger image

Sliding screens of perforated mini orb close off the roofed decks at the edge of the building, so that they are secure when the house is not in use. They also screen the undesirable sun and weather. A second set of screens wrap around the internal courtyard which also protect against inclement weather and cater for prolonged absences.

Architect – Bourne Blue Architecture
Engineer – Izzat Consulting Engineers
Builder – Sugar Creek Building Co.
Completion – 2010
Cost – $520,000 incl tax
Area – 169m2

See also:

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Beach House by Alexander Gorlin	Star House by AGi Architects	Wategos Beach House by Mackay + Partners