Coalcliff House by Richards Stanisich rebuilds a 1970s weatherboard home beneath the Illawarra escarpment—an area characterised by radiata pines and its ocean-side location.
Architect and practice director Jonathan Richards explains that the main residence required a second floor for the main bedroom as well as an art studio, study and living area. A free open space with strong natural daylight that looks out onto a large garden with a meandering path to the ocean.
There’s an easiness to the home due to its coastal location, underpinned by some very serious infrastructure. “To build further on the site, there was substantial piling and excavation,” Richards says. Reinforced and extended, the main A-frame residence is for a couple and their dogs while the adjoining single level A-frame is home to the couple’s uncle. Responsive to context, the charred timber cladding on the exterior is also fire-rated and has since become a favourite element of the architecture.
“I love the idea of a recessive building, perched in the trees—a black timber clad shell with a warm natural timber interior. It’s cabin-like, almost accidentally. A quality that became apparent when photographing the project.” Another favourite is having this secondary structure that is pared back. The difference between the two parts of the project, the main house and the simplicity of Unc’s (or uncle’s) house with a monochromatic plywood-lined interior with tiled benches and one chair and one lamp. This is something the practice enjoyed bringing to life.
Architecture and interiors by Richards Stanisich, built by Arke Projects with kitchen cabinetry by UK-based fabricator deVOL. Pictured: AGA electric oven with induction hob. Bell table by The Wood Room in natural oak with Time & Style Botan No Hana pendant light above and Karimoku pendant light over the kitchen island.
Reflecting on this, Richards references another house they completed about two years ago—a contemporary farmhouse. “This is our follow up regional house to that. There are a few parts that carried over, like the timber roof structure to support the floor above that you can see as a timber ceiling from the main living areas. The blues and greys of the ocean are framed by a really beautiful deep-veined-timber ceiling and raw brick from the original house which extends out to a timber pergola outside.”
To achieve a high level of detail for the interiors, the kitchen came as furniture. Designed with a London-based fabricator, the kitchen has distressed copper benchtops and beautifully made timber cabinetry. “Modular systems that are made with enduring materials and convey the textural quality we sought to create in the interiors.” The cabinetry was then completed with local materials and a local builder that worked with the practice and clients to refine the details on site “and it feels really right for the Coalcliff house,” Richards says.
Carefully retained within the new structures, part of the original weatherboard remains. The house reflects something of its original form but now expanded upon to accommodate multi-generational living. “In many ways there is a concept of time here, with the house now catering for two generations and also being built to last well past our lifetime.”
The main residence includes timber detailing that stretches outside to a covered area. Pictured: MAKE Nordic Prime Time chair, Dornstab floor lamp designed by J.T. Kalmar and A.Pöll 1947. Jardan Valley sofa.
The main bedroom suite with Spindle bed by Ethnicraft and AJ wall light by Louis Poulsen.
Pictured: The Water Monopoly Rockwell bath.
Unc’s House with plywood finishes and simple tiled surfaces. Pictured: Karin 73 armchair by Dux Fred International and Gubi 9602 floor lamp by Paavo Tynell.
A cabin-like building in the trees overlooking the Illawarra escarpment.
