VEIL
The experience of Veil is one of architectural anticipation: slowly revealing tranquil, joyful and spirited spaces.
On an unusual and large triangular block, the house presents a modest, narrow street façade which belies the scale of the world beyond.
The progressive unveiling of spaces is a carefully orchestrated sequence. The entry brings one to a gallery-like stairwell. Sculptural and monastic in presence, the double-height, skylit chamber brings spaciousness to the moment of arrival, encouraging a slowing down of time, a pause before stepping into the outdoor infused envelope of the home.
The solidity and calmness of the building’s concrete and sandstone core unfurls into transparent and semi-transparent glazed and timber screened exterior.
In a movement from weight to weightlessness, gravitas to openness, the pull of the ocean and sky is felt drawing movement through the house where it widens to an open-plan kitchen and lounge area set against expansive views of the ocean’s horizon.
The home unwraps itself to the landscape as blurred lines between inside and out astound the senses. Borders of rooms dissolve; slatted screens mediate between earth and sky acting as an invitation to contemplate what is being revealed — the calmness and openness of the natural setting.
The project is explorative, using scale and physical journey to curate experience and appreciation of the essence of each different space. The material palette is consistent throughout. As spaces become more private the fineness of their application is used to imply the level of seclusion.
Reminiscent of a set design or puzzle box, the main bathroom’s timber slatted wall mirrors the movable privacy screens to the balcony. Their battened vertical lines make an impression of a cross as they cut through the horizontal lines of the pale stone balcony wall and the softer blue horizon from afar. Cacti and the arch of the mirror interrupt and soften the rectilinear room, pulling the world outside into the most private of spaces.
Rethinking the urban beach house typology, Veil is not a typical Australian coastal home: the familiar lightness expected is deliberately subverted by the moodier stairwell, smokey colours, and the robustness of the inner core’s materials.
Yet the peripheral spaces are awash with light as the building’s edges fuse with the greenery of the gardens and the ocean’s ebb and flow. It is at once like being in a sun-washed European courtyard that is simultaneously a functional family residence.
The home uses natural materials with longevity and character, Australian where possible, bringing typically exterior materials (sandstone, concrete, and timber) inside, accentuating the symbiosis of the indoors and outdoors.
Playing with intimate and expansive temperaments, sacred pauses and social zones, the design is a capsule encompassing all sides of family life.
Traditional custodians: Birrabirragal and Gadigal People
Photography: Anson Smart
Styling: Jack Milenkovic
Team: Madeleine Blanchfield