Dawn BeachA reworking of an old beach house

Dawn Beach is a deep and extensive renovation of a dated, 1990's home set on Smith's Reef, Grace Bay.

The presence of the existing home (left image) on the oceanfront was imposing and incoherent with red terracotta roofs at odds with the natural setting of the dunescape, which is dotted with indigenous palmetto palms, bordering an untouched section of beach and vivid coloured ocean.

The existing villa plan was rambling with a solitary oceanfront bedroom at the lower and a further bedroom on the upper level. Our client sought to expand the villa and to introduce as many oceanfronting bedrooms as possible, to take in the vista of the Princess Alexandra Marine National Park.

In response, we simplified the ocean facing facade to introduced four equally sized oceanfront bedrooms, framed with deep, solid timber cumaru portal structures that hold cantilevered terraces, individual to each bedroom. The introduction of these hardwood structures redefines this ocean facing facade and furnishes it with a casual, elegant beach home architecture which records the passage of sunlight over the external surfaces - highlights and shadows shifting over the building and dissolving the villa somewhat into its natural context when viewed from the beach and ocean.

To the rear of the villa, the arrival sequence was carefully choreographed. The existing meandering driveway was maintained, in order to preserve the mature trees. Set behind these trees we placed a new gym building, constructed in board marked concrete - the texture of which allows dancing shadows across its facades, etched with rough timber planks, which blend the structure into the dense landscape setting. A meandering staircase bounded by large planters rises from the forecourt to the entry door, connecting tropical planting all the way up to the entrance.

The interior of the home was completely reconfigured and reimagined as a serene beach home with bright inviting spaces with rip-sawn oak for the millwork and cabinetry meeting travetine flooring throughout.