Beauty at the base of the escarpment
A beautifully designed Bulli property, Pavilion House, is about to hit the market on Monday and is expected to go under the hammer for somewhere between $1,850,000 and $2,035,000.
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McGrath Estate Agents John O’Reilly has declared the one-year-old home “the best house in the Illawarra”.
The modern styled five-bedroom home was designed to suit its natural environment as well as the changing needs of a family with teenage children.
It nestled among 2096 square metres at the base of the escarpment.
Interested buyers can view the property at it’s first open house on May 14, with an auction date set for June 4.
Features include ensuite and walk-in-robe to the master bedroom, courtyard, pool, garden storage and views of the beautiful surrounds.
“The way that the house relates to the bush and vice versa from pretty much every corner is the main aspect of the project,” said building designer Alex Urena.
A special feature on the property will be in the Illawarra Mercury print edition on Saturday May 14.
You need to pay respect to the place that was there before you, and make [the building] look like it belongs
- Alex Urena
Designing to suit change
The four-bedroom home plus guest house at 33G Hospital Road was designed by Bulli based Alex Urena Design Studio, and created to suit the needs of a family household with teenage children.
“[The owners] wanted a house split into pavilions where it would be possible to have separate but interconnected areas,” said Mr Urena.
“Both of the owners do shift work and ‘recover corners’ were essential.”
He said he’d noticed similar trends in the last couple of years, while open plan living was on the decline.
“People are spending more time at home … the design needs to be flexible to address the needs of when the family is small and the kids are little, to be able to use the space in different ways as the family evolves.”
Though the building is still in it’s infancy, it holds exquisite antique features.
Re-salvaged tallow wood was brought in from The Abbey in Mittagong, 150-year-old English oak butter-churn light fittings, hand carved doorknobs from sassafras timber in Tasmania and recycled bricks were sent from Sydney.
Building designer Alex Urena won two trophies for the home, winner of Best Custom Home at the James Hardie Speck and Trek Design Competition 2014 and winner of Best New Residential Buildings 351-450 sqm at the BDA National Design Awards 2015.
The house is set on a lush block of 2096 square metres with its surroundings incorporated into the design.
Mr Urena said you need to design buildings to suit their landscape, as that entity will “touch” the environment which will hopefully stay forever – such as the Illawarra escarpment.
“If you address it the wrong way it can have a massive impact to the location. You need to pay respect to the place that was there before you, and make [the building] look like it belongs,” he said.
Meantime as the home faces south, the window design has optimised natural light – direct and indirect.
Mr Urena said shadow from the escarpment need not be an issue for new properties in the northern suburbs, as long as you address the the location cleverly.