Plywood House ii is an incredible modern two-story beach house designed by Andrew Burges Architects, located in Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia. The home was designed into a narrow plot of land orientated away from the neighbors to provide a private sanctuary for the owners. Differing from the surrounding buildings, which are characterized by their typical ‘shotgun’ corridor and internal organization, the playful beach house opens up connections to the sky and garden from both levels.  The beach house offers a sense of privacy while still having access to the outside landscape and views beyond.

The concept was to create an exterior envelope that directly expressed the long, thin site geometry, but to use the elements of the interior to shift and break down the typical linear corridor space, using the interior geometry to orientate the house away from neighbors and to orchestrate connections with the sky and the garden from both levels of the interior.

The materials used were affordable and created a coastal feel for the house – ecoply cladding for the body of the house and a concrete capping block to create a textured base for the house. Within the simple block-like building form, the windows were used to animate the exterior. On the lower level the window openings are varied and opportunistic – finding points of sky or natural light to suit the specific uses they contain. On the upper level, a continuous strip of windows and screens capitalize on the opportunities for light, sun, and outlook that the second story allows, framed by privacy screens to account for their added exposure.

Photos: Courtesy of Andrew Burges Architects