Broadbeach Waters House

The Broadbeach Waters house seeks a careful response to both its water’s edge location and its particular sub-tropical micro-climate. It occupies a premier East-facing spot on the Broadbeach Waters canal system and enjoys fabulous views to the East of a large stretch of the Gold Coast skyline. The new two storey home replaced an unremarkable existing 1980s bungalow on the site, and was conceived as very much a retreat from its suburban context as well as a place that would cater for occasional extended family scenarios. Although partially driven by the market, the objective from the outset was to create a special home that was wedded to its place. The brief was sprinkled with phrases such as ‘a reading nook that felt connected to the canal’ as well as ‘landscaped private garden heart’. Hence, the ground level’s open plan East-facing kitchen, dining and living areas are located between the canal edge and an internal courtyard-style garden. There’s also a media room and a gymnasium together with a guest bedroom and ensuite. On the first level, there are five bedrooms and three bathrooms, with the main bedroom having a large ensuite and a walk-in dressing area. Rather than simply replace brick with brick (the 1980s bungalow), a combination of terracotta tile wall linings and terracotta perforated blockwork screens are incorporated into the architectural language. While the home’s rear elevation will engage with the canal, the internal garden, with its partially top-lit translucent polycarbonate and timber-battened ceiling, will be integral amenity for nearly all the rooms in the home. While many of the spaces are fluid in their open plan arrangement, there is variation in the ceiling heights to loosely delineate these areas. For example the double-height timber-lined void in the living area (the height of which enables views of the canal from the two western bedrooms) is adjacent to the more intimately scaled kitchen and dining area.