17/05/2026
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PROJECT SPOTLIGHT - Dune House
Residential Class 1 - New Buildings | 25th Australian Timber Design Awards
Dune House by is a beachfront weekender rebuilt for a couple embarking on retirement: two pavilion wings enclosing a central courtyard with firepit and spa, connected by an open breezeway that draws a visual line from street to ocean.
The timber palette is layered and deliberate. , FSC-certified modified Radiata Pine, wraps the exterior as cladding, sliding doors, garage door, screens, and breezeway frames, all left uncoated to weather and silver alongside the surrounding dunes. Recycled pre-aged Australian hardwood decking from Australian Architectural Hardwood finishes the semi-open breezeway, terraces, and decks on a bearer and joist system of solid treated pine. Inside, engineered oak flooring by (Richmond) grounds the interiors with a warm, oiled finish, while Alpi Xilo White timber veneer lines joinery doors and fixed panels, letting light and texture do the work.
Above it all, LVL beams and rafters form a curved roof inspired by the shape of the dunes - tapered to integrate gutters and finished in copper sheeting. Passive strategies including orientation, cross ventilation, thermal mass, and solar screening deliver a NatHERS 5.0-star rating with minimal mechanical heating or cooling. Bore and rainwater harvesting, low-VOC finishes, and hydronic floor heating complete a project where 60% of construction materials are timber.
Since the ATDA, Dune House was shortlisted for the Beach House Award at the 2024 International Design & Architecture Awards.
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📷 .bayer
TimberCladding EngineeredFlooring BeachHouse CoastalArchitecture SustainableDesign AustralianArchitecture WoodDesign PassiveDesign TimberFlooring LVL
