Project: Escarpment House
Architects: Atelier Andy Carson
Location: Gerringong, Australia
Area: 1,356 sq ft
Photographs by: Michael Nicholson
Escarpment House by Atelier Andy Carson
The Escarpment House by Atelier Andy Carson is a modern take on the traditional Australian farm house located in the town of Gerringong. This residence is actually designed as a guesthouse with two beds with the primary goal of making the most out of the location’s access to ocean view panoramas to the south and beautiful pastoral vistas to the north.
This modest two bed guest house explores the vernacular farm shed, with a plan that’s charmingly simple yet highly considered in its detail. Located on a quintessentially NSW South Coast dairy farm. The design explores the vernacular steel portal frame typology in a highly refined and detailed way. The simple rectilinear floor-plan aligned with the long edges facing North/South, sets up a strong primary axis as these also make best use of the ocean and rural views. The other strong axis is that of the East/West which aligns with the inner circulation path and the other major view to the signature Illawarra escarpment in the west. The point of intersection between these axis forms a runway of timber decks on either side of the building. At the point of entry, a framed view through the building to the ocean on the south side is formed.
–Atelier Andy Carson
