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Project by
Year of completion
2020
Project cost
$1m - $2m
Building style
Contemporary

Summer House is a timeless weekend beach house for a young family consisting of simple forms, textured surfaces and open spaces which provide abundant opportunities for relaxed holidays and weekends away.

The simple beach shack is fast becoming extinct in some of Victoria’s coastal hotspots however the response to the client’s brief was to retain the charm of the existing cottage and create a contemporary pavilion with the same qualities of space, simplicity and charm.

Being a weekend house, the interiors are stripped bare to the essentials only, with simple unadorned rooms to remove visual clutter such that the owners can focus on the important things such as the coming together of family and friends.

A restrained palette of white painted materials unified the project, linking the original cottage and new pavilion. The highly textural materials like rough sawn vertical planks with deep reveals, and bagged brickwork contrast the smooth weatherboards. The new architectural form reinterprets the gable roof in a contemporary way whilst unmistakably referencing the past.

Summer house creates a timeless family home which will grow and adapt with the family over many years, creating space for family gatherings, and providing a weekend escape.

Awards and
recognition

2021
Houses Awards
Shortlist - House Alterations & Additions over 200m2
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About the
Professional

A common response to our work is an appreciation of the light and space we create, but our designs are also conceived for a world where the sun shines, rains fall, winds blow, and temperatures vary – it’s this thinking that makes our buildings liveable, and lasting.

We are a Melbourne-based practice specialising in intelligent and sustainable design solutions. Our experienced team of architects and interior designers deliver individualised and often unique outcomes specific to each site and context.

Over the years we have developed an extensive portfolio of residential, multi-residential, commercial and interior projects, many of which have gained industry awards and recognition.

Centrally located in Cremorne in inner Melbourne, we deliver projects of varying scales and typologies, with a consistent focus on high-quality, design-focused outcomes that are bespoke and timeless by their nature.

The practice was founded in 2006 by Brett Nixon and George Fortey, who had previously learned their craft with some of Australia’s leading architectural firms, working on a wide range of residential, multi-residential, commercial and interior projects across the country.

We have now delivered well over $500 million worth of projects in many parts of Melbourne and throughout regional Victoria, including Boroondara, Stonnington, the City of Yarra, Bayside, Port Phillip, the Mornington and Bellarine Peninsulas, Geelong, the Surf Coast and the Alpine Shire.

At ArchiPro we recognise and acknowledge the existing, original and ancient connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have to the lands and waterways across the Australian continent. We pay our respects to the elders past and present. We commit to working together to build a prosperous and inclusive Australia.