david boyle architects sculpts the breezeway house as a complex, angular geometry

along the coastal region of new south wales, david boyle architect’s breezeway house is nestled among a garden grove of pine trees and figs. the project offers a playful retreat destination for holidays at the beach. situated within a block subdivided with complex, trapezoidal boundaries, the linear building form is stretched to allow for a series of gardens to buffer the neighboring buildings and moderate visibility of the house from the street. ultimately the house is characterized as a composition of outdoor patio spaces and dramatic angles.

images by brett boardman

the team at david boyle architect curates its breezeway house with a focus on craft and detailing with materials that are natural and robust. consideration for the experience of a beach house informs a poetic response to placemaking throughout the site. the rhythm of the structural grid provides an expressive logic to the spatial arrangement, along with an intuitive twist in the upper level roof form echoes the headlands at either end of australia’s macmasters beach. the angular geometry is explored at both the macro and micro level.

suspended atop steel posts, david boyle architect’s breezeway house is clad both internally and externally with charred tongue and groove timber. along its interior, a timber-lined ‘breezeway’ runs the full length of the building. this armature provides a dynamic and flexible space for the movement of air, people, and light. the carefully crafted timber spine warmly welcomes occupants and provides access to dynamic bedroom spaces that can open to each other as well as to a series of semi-enclosed garden rooms. the breezeway helps to thermally regulate the house and provides cross ventilation without compromising privacy.

the breezeway house comprises screened openings that are carefully organized to shield from neighbors, capture breezes, and frame views of the headland. two master bedrooms, twin interconnected bunkrooms allow for the flexibility of one, two, or three family groups to occupy the house at once. a multi-purpose playroom, generous seating areas, storage areas and numerous outdoor spaces offer plenty of opportunities for both gathering and retreat. the team at david boyle architect makes use of materials that are natural, sustainable, robust and playful, emphasising moments of craft, patterns and texture to be discovered over time. the breezeway house combines the tectonics and rigor of building with the poetics of architecture.

project info: 

project title: breezeway house

architecture: david boyle architect

location: macmasters beach, australia

completion: 2019

manufacturers: adbri, anchor ceramics, breezway, CSR, cemintel, eco outdoor, lysaght, viridian, AHJ joinery, artedomus, briggs veneers, custom steel benchtop, fine earth joinery, frencham cyprus, onsite SD, rockote, the brick pit

photography: brett boardman