Gurrugal House - writer's retreat

Location

Calverts Hill Nature Reserve, Sandford, Tasmania – Australia

Job type

Conceptual residential development – a writer’s retreat to find inspiration for his/her creations

Pre-design condition

Vacant site

Client requirements

Propose a design (exterior and interior) that transforms an architectural object into a writer’s retreat.
The design should generate specific rooms and the society of these rooms should come together into a unified whole that reflects a writer’s personality.

Gurrugal House is situated at Calverts Hill Nature Reserve, Sandford in front of the waters of the Tasman Sea.

The project takes advantage of all the natural elements in its surroundings and melds with the landscape to become a bold architectural statement. With the unusual “Y” floor plan from the Gurrugal House, the writer’s retreat sets an ambitious architectural tone for the area which is replete with vernacular houses.

The concealed entrance under the stairs helps to maintain the building like a single monolith in the landscape. However, all the openness around this monolith is responsible for creating a complete connection between the interior and the exterior.

As soon as you enter through the main door your eyes are drawn by the outside being framed by the floor-to-ceiling windows surrounding the whole house. After a few steps forward the textural and subtle qualities of the neutral concrete used in the structure that was kept visible in the interior helped to enhance the scale of the project.

On the inside, a few strategic design moves were used to reduce the overwhelming feeling of being inside a bold architectural space, such as the sunken living room, sliding timber screens in the bar area and the bedroom area, and the open shelves in front of the side windows in the office area.

To complete the perfect writer’s retreat the rooftop is marked by a long, rectangular canopy, framing the mountain views on one side and the sea in the other creating the perfect ambiance for the writer to sit and let their imagination flow.

Premise

The idea for the house is to take advantage of the secluded surroundings where the house is placed and make use of large openings as much as I can creating a full integration between the building and the landscape.

Using this strategy I imagine that I am going to be able to create a monumental house that does not fight or contrast with the surroundings.

On the opposite, this can create a feeling of belonging.

Figure 1. Gurrugal House model (Source: Tuckwell, n.d)

Figure 2. Gurrugal House model (Source: Tuckwell, n.d)

Figure 3. Gurrugal House model (Source: Tuckwell, n.d)

Figure 4. Gurrugal House model (Source: Tuckwell, n.d)

Inspirational view

Figure 5
All Trails. (n.d.). Calverts Hill Nature Reserve [Photo].
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/australia/tasmania/forest-hill-road-to-calverts-hill-summit

Figure 5, 6, 7, and 8. Calverts Hill Nature Reserve (Source: Chimp, 2023)

Nothing better for a writer than a peaceful and secluded retreat to get inspired and put his imagination to work.

Based on this idea, the location chosen for the house is a small Tasmanian rural location called Sandford. With a recorded population of 1883 residents, Sandford is located approximately 16kms from the capital Hobart.

The location has an incredible ocean view and being up on a hill the sunrise and the sunset will be the highlights of the day. To complete the writer’s package the fog which is one of Tasmania’s main weather characteristics will create some moody days to provide all the feelings to make any mind inspired to create.