St Andrews Beach house is a circular timber house that is “all front”, with panoramic views on all sides.

The brief

The client requested a ‘bach’ for this Mornington Peninsula Holiday home. A New Zealand term, bach refers to a basic and modest shack or shed.

Design response

With no neighbouring forms to respond to, this home was freely imagined by the architect. Its shape was determined in response to the surrounding landscape and the client’s desire for a simple interior space.

As the architect is not fond of corridors or circulation space, they were emitted from this home. And a home without corridors or circulation space lends itself to a circular design.

The internal spaces were generated by a tightly controlled plan with a spiral staircase at the core, which provides light and air but also snug spaces.

Instead of adding something to the outside such as a deck or veranda, says the architect, the deck has been “eroded out of the form itself, creating a two-storey space that’s both outside and inside”.

Sustainability features

The house has a small footprint, standing at under five metres in radius. Materials were chosen for their robustness and the home employs passive solar design principals.

All windows are double-glazed, and the roof is covered in solar panels with micro-inverters. A large cylinder concrete water tank also collects rainwater, which is used to flush toilets and water the garden.