Architecture Wednesday: Bones House

In Australia, Fibro cottages date back to the 1920s and are the iconic Aussie Beach Shack. But what happens when they get a little too old and too worn out? Reinvention; which leads us to Bones House, a completely transformed, and updated, and, of course enlarged, Fibro cottage.

The name Bones House is derived from the fibro “cartilage” that the contemporary timber additions wrap around like muscle and skin. Much of the house’s original footprint has been reused, in an attempt to maintain character, even though the house has been completely re-imagined. Still, Bones House is more renovation than replacement with over half of the original dwelling’s roof saved and repurposed to create a raked roof. The new high ceilings allowed the architect to utilize highlight glazing to improve the house’s ventilation.

The open-plan kitchen and dining area serves as the heart of the home, which spills out onto a deck. The interior and exterior spaces are divided by bifold doors, that do away with the feeling of disconnection a wall would create between the indoors and out. The use of timber in both spaces also ensures the transition between inside and outside is seamless. There are three guest bedrooms and a beautiful primary bedroom facing the ocean.

In fact, timber is the defining feature of Bones House; timber is used on the ceiling and floors, as doors and as storage. But cavity masonry walls control the home’s climate all year round, and are left purposely exposed to further the robust textures already seen within the home. 

And so what once was a humble beach shack, or cottage, is now a modern, open, elegant way to spend your holiday at the beach.

 Arch Daily