DD House on the Coal Coast, NSW by Bokey Grant Architects.

DD House by Bokey Grant Architects is an exercise in restraint. Located high on a hill, the home cuts a striking figure against its soft coastal surroundings, located amongst the trees on the Coal Coast in Southern NSW. With a tight budget and a difficult site to manage, the studio has delivered a rigorously designed home that embraces its local landscape.

The ground floor is the jewel of the home. Inspired by Donovan Hill’s lauded D-House, the elevated interior works as a central unit divided into multiple zones. Here, the dining, kitchen and living areas open out to the rolling hills and canopy beyond. With a solid balustrade wrapping the eastern and northern sides of the house and some well-placed windows, the raised garden beds blend in with the bordering canopy, forming an amazing vista and blocking the neighbouring houses from view.

The project embraces open plan living while avoiding its shortfalls. Each space is subtly indicated through simple cues while remaining connected. “The aim was to balance this openness against enclosure and intimacy often lacking in a traditional open plan,” says principal architect, Jeffrey Bokey-Grant. The kitchen bench is one such cue, used as a tool to organise the interior. Sitting on small timber legs, the freestanding form feels as if it’s free-floating, a departure from the usual built-in units.

They say constraints make a project, and DD House certainly had a few—Bokey Grant had to balance solar access, bushfires, wind factors and privacy alongside the cost. The window and doors had to be bushfire compliant but also energy efficient. Usually, this results in a stacked box common in project style homes, but the team departed from this path sculpting the home as much as possible to distinguish and elevate it beyond its parts.

Material selections complemented both the architecture as well as the clients’ aesthetic comforts. Timber elements generally match the joinery tones of American oak. The sofa was chosen by the client in a tone that blends & connects to the natural gum trees beyond. Lighting was kept simple, both functional and moody; it complements the furniture and the clients’ lifestyle.

Making light of negatives and going with the flow, Bokey Grant has created an oasis amongst the trees with functional, well-executed design solutions.

Related: MB Apartment in Drummoyne by Bokey Grant Architects.

[Images courtesy of Bokey Grant Architects. Photography by Clinton Weaver.]