project: Palmy Palmy House
Architects: CplusC Architecture Workshop
Site: Palm Beach, Sydney, Australia
region: 1,011 sf
year: 2021
photos by: Michael Lassmann, Murray Fredericks, Renata Dominic
Palmy Palmy House by CplusC Architectural Workshop
Balmy Palmy House is a wonderful celebration of humility and the simple life. It is a modern 1000 square foot house planted on a steep rocky slope in Palm Beach, Australia. It was designed by CplusC Architectural Workshop, a studio you may remember from the showcases of their recent projects – Iron Maiden House and Living Screen House.
Balmy Palmy House celebrates the pleasures of humility and the simple life. Firmly planted on a steep, rocky slope, this intimate Palm Beach tiny home lies in a canopy of bush. Immersed in sunshine, trees, breezes, and birdlife, a relaxing vacation invites you to recharge.
The site was a bushy wasteland on the Palm Beach Peninsula, 40 kilometers from the Sydney CBD. On a steep rocky slope, the lack of stable subsoil was a landslide hazard. The structure needed to be excavated into the rock or built on concrete pier bases excavated into the layers of Hawkesbury sandstone, sharing the space with the council-protected Port Jackson fig tree and other mature trees. On a limited budget, the design should be simple to reduce complexity, construction time and regular site visits.
Meccano Group – CplusC decided to use a partially prefabricated system to reduce construction time and cost. Our builders simply cut pre-made timber posts and beam into three steel axle nodes and bolted them into place, much like assembling a Meccano assembly. Without site metrics, there is always a risk that something will not fit. Confident in our team’s accuracy and responsibility in both design and construction, we judged it to be a calculated risk. The construction went exactly as planned and was completed within a year.
DESIGN – The temptation on such a scenic site is to go big to lavish lots of views, often requiring tree cutting, excavation, rock sawing, and extensive retaining wall construction. CplusC’s vision was to keep the home humble and receptive to its environment and plant it proudly in the ground on boring concrete sidewalks. The two-bedroom, one-bathroom home is a simple wood structure perched atop steep land. Oversized wooden columns and beams contrast with the lightweight ceiling and trestle legs. An expansive outdoor deck connects all the spaces of the house and areas for sitting, relaxing and gathering. Lying in the treetops on the cargo net bay, people can drink in the canopy.
Perched among the trees – up a stone staircase and spiral staircase, you enter a secluded space filled with light and leaves and open to the air. With a soundscape of bird calls, it’s like being in a tree house. Glimpses of the beach, jetty, and Pitwater Village shift behind the foliage. The kitchen, living room, bathroom, and two bedrooms are stacked along the outbuilding. With no walkway, you are in nature whenever you leave the room.
Sustainable – The Meccano Collection’s design had the multiplier effect of reducing embodied energy, first by reducing steel in favor of wood. Prefabricated off-site components reduced material deliveries and waste collection. The simple construction also reduced trips for builders, architects and project managers to Palm Beach, remote by Sydney standards. The house is built from low maintenance materials with low energy, mainly wood and corrugated iron. Precise routing brings sunlight inside all year round and sliding doors and vents provide cross ventilation. Bathrooms and irrigation systems use rainwater and there is a Tesla car charger.
– CplusC Architecture Workshop
