We always strive to create a sense of well-being in our homes
and the sense here is one of calm, which is really experienced when you first walk in.
I'm Eva-Marie Prineas of Studio Prineas, the architects for Bay House.
Bay House is located on the land of the Gweagal, Bidjigal and Cadigal people of the Eora Nation.
Bay House overlooks Kyle Bay on the Georges River, which is about 20 kilometres south of Sydney.
In terms of fitting in with the topography of the suburb, I think that Bay House
probably does stand out as being a little bit different but it's still very modest in scale.
It has quite a direct simplicity which is quite different to the other houses
in the surrounding area. When you enter on street level, you're greeted by a
beautiful central stair which becomes the main circulation spine of the home
and you have the lounge room on one side of the stair and the kitchen and dining on the other.
The kitchen was designed to be completely black and matte as a contrast to
the living spaces which were really light and bright and connect to the outdoors.
Upstairs, there's the main bedroom suite. On the lower level, there's the kids
quarters, so there's three bedrooms and a nice big laundry and bathroom and then on the lowest level,
there's a rumpus room which could be a multi-purpose space for later on.
My name is Brett Ward, I'm the General Manager of International Marketing
for Brickworks Building Products.
Brickworks has completed a number of projects with Eva-Marie Prineas.
She has a love for brick and block work. I think she enjoys the authenticity
and natural finishes of our products. Back in 2018, we invited her to
be a speaker in our bespoke speaker series called "In Detail" and from there we were able to build a
relationship and collaborate with her through both a love of architecture but also using our products
in her projects. Some of the key materials we use throughout the house
are concrete for the floors, block work for the walls and then elements of timber.
We chose to use concrete blocks because I love the idea of a material having multiple functions.
The setup at Brickworks was really helpful throughout the process. We were able to
demonstrate how the chosen material would elevate the project beyond using a utilitarian material.
The block work in this project has a home finish, which exposes the beautiful natural aggregates.
This creates a nice limestone effect which echoes the surrounding environment
and aligns very well to the eucalyptus tree found in the backyard of the project and the fact
they've been used both internally and externally means they don't require any extra finishes such
as painting, rendering or plastering. Walking through the home it creates a sense of pride
seeing how our products have been used in such a beautiful piece of architecture.
I think for me it's the way the product's been used to create a single materiality and
a home that the homeowners will be able to enjoy forever. Another interesting feature of the home
is the breeze block wall located at the front. It creates both an internal and external space,
adds a really interesting dimension and dynamic to the front of the home and allows natural light
to filter through, creating an open and airy space. I think my favourite moment in the house
is that first point of entry when you walk in and the stillness and calm
that you experience when you see the hanging pendant lights and you take a moment to pause.