The client approached us with a clear and deeply personal ambition: to create their dream home on a site perched high above the Pacific Ocean—a place that would make every day feel like a holiday. The view was extraordinary, but the site itself was small, constrained, and overshadowed by neighbouring dwellings that pressed in from all sides.
Yet the completed house feels generous, open, and almost solitary—held in quiet dialogue with the ocean and the sky.
Working within such tight physical limits, we identified two primary avenues through which spatial generosity could be achieved. The first was the unexpected height of the living room, the one dimension in which the site allowed us to be expansive. This vertical volume became the heart of the home, a space that lifts the gaze and the spirit. The second was the pursuit of sightlines—carefully choreographed glimpses and framed views that connect the occupants to water and sky at every opportunity.
Tall side walls provide privacy and thermal mass, while a continuous band of highlight windows captures a 360‑degree panorama of shifting sky. The large face‑concrete wall that anchors the living space is punctuated by slender slot windows, offering teasing flashes of the ocean as one moves through the house, all while shielding the interior from the looming presence of the neighbour.
To the east, the house opens fully to the horizon. Here, the architecture dissolves into the view, embracing the vastness of the Pacific. This openness also harnesses the constant ocean breezes, allowing the home to cool naturally throughout the year. A variety of operable elements—from sliding doors to adjustable louvres—gives the occupants fine control over ventilation and climate.
The material palette is rich yet restrained, grounded in earthy, robust textures. Concrete, timber floors and ceilings, rusted metal finishes, and thick, tactile renders create a sense of weight and permanence. These elements contrast with the finely detailed interior joinery and the lightness introduced by the expansive eastern opening, anchoring the home while allowing it to feel airy and elevated.
“Sophisticated simplicity” became the guiding principle for the design. On such a small block, achieving the client’s expectations for generosity and refinement required a disciplined, highly intentional approach. While the sweeping ocean views naturally shaped the emotional centre of the project, it was the suburban context that dictated many of the key architectural moves: the slotted northern concrete wall, the solid southern façade, the high roofline with its continuous strip of highlight glazing and operable louvres.
The result is a home that feels both grounded and expansive — an architecture that protects, frames, and elevates the experience of living beside the ocean.
Photos by Sharrin Rees