GREAT ESCAPE
A spacious house in the dunes on the Mornington Peninsula is a relaxing retreat for a Melbourne couple and their extended family.
ST ANDREWS BEACH LIES on the wild side of the Mornington Peninsula coastline in Victoria. Unlike the protected waters of Port Phillip Bay, St Andrews Beach is on the south-eastern side of the peninsula, facing pounding surf and the full force of Bass Strait’s weather. Here, 87 kilometres south of Melbourne, a small beach community of mainly weekenders hunkers down in the sand dunes. Known for some striking architectural responses to this blistering environment, this building is certainly one of them. The Dunes House is the beachside retreat of Melbourne doctors Wendy and Peter. The couple have five adult children, four grandchildren, and a busy medical practice in the city. The coast is where they go to recharge. So, in 2004, it was their search for more quiet isolation that drew them from the bay side of the peninsula. “We used to have a house in Portsea and when it started becoming built up, we thought we’d like to go somewhere quieter with a sea view,” says Wendy. “We saw this house advertised, and said ‘Let’s go and have a look’. When we arrived the thing that first hit us was the smell of the sea. We walked in and it was just what we wanted. It felt calm and peaceful, and the view looks over the sand dunes to the ocean. That view is why we bought it.” Wendy believes the house was built in the 1970s and had undergone some ad hoc renovations in more recent years. However, the floor plan of the rambling two-wing house was impractical. “The renovation kept to the original footprint but it was disjointed and a mishmash of shapes,” says Wendy. Initially they put in a pool for the family on the >
“When we get here we often feel hassled, but when we drive through the gate everything washes away. We relax; it’s quiet and calm.”
northern sheltered side, as the house faced south into the weather. “Often it can be two separate days here, on the south side a howling gale, and on the north, you think ‘Oh, it’s a lovely day!’ We put the pool in because it’s a very rugged beach, and although there are lovely rock pools when the tide’s out, there are rips out the back and I would never let the kids go out in the surf here. Gunnamatta is the next beach and they all surfed out there,” says Wendy. It was the constant battering from the wind, salt and spray that resulted in the need for some serious maintenance on the exterior and was one of the reasons they decided to undertake a major renovation. The other was the discovery of an even more dramatic, panoramic view. “We climbed on the roof above our bedroom one day, and thought ‘That’s a nicer view than downstairs!’ From then on, I really wanted a bedroom up on top, and the rest just happened,” says Wendy. Whiting Architects drew up plans for the renovation, which included adding two discrete box forms creating a second-storey master bedroom, ensuite and sitting room over one wing of the house. The boxes are angled to break down the mass when viewed from the front and to maximise views. “It was the amazing uninterrupted panoramic views of Bass Strait which prompted the addition of the second storey,” says director Steven Whiting. “We wanted to create a sanctuary for the owners, their own apartment-like space amid the larger family home. When viewed from the beach, the first floor disappears behind the dunes leaving only the more subtle, top level peering over.” >
“When we arrived the first thing that hit us was the smell of the sea.”
Windows were replaced, exterior walls re-rendered and weather-resistant ceramic tiles were put on the front fascia. Inside works included reworking spaces, creating a new kitchen, a more defined front door and a breezeway created by a massive timber arbour, reminiscent of pier pylons, that links the two wings of the house. The space under the arbour incorporates an outdoor dining area and fireplace. Despite the harsh conditions, having a garden was on Wendy’s wish list and she worked with landscape designer Fiona Brockhoff to create a walled garden sheltered behind the wing containing the kitchen, living room and groundfloor bedrooms. “Gardening down here is very tough and we needed a walled garden otherwise the rabbits would just get everything, not to mention birds and possums. But I love growing a few things, and cooking what we grow or giving it away to people,” says Wendy. Building started in early 2017 and was finished in time for Christmas. Now the house works equally well when it is just Wendy and Peter there alone as it does when the whole family comes to stay, with all six bedrooms in use. The house can accommodate 14 people. “We need to go down there and try to get there every weekend. Our jobs are quite stressful at times and when we get here we often feel hassled, but when we drive through the gate everything washes away. We relax; it’s quiet and calm. It feels like we’re in the middle of nowhere but we’re only minutes away from Main Ridge, Red Hill, the wineries, and our friends on the other side of the peninsula,” says Wendy. “We love it as much in winter as in summer, when it can be volatile. We sit in bed and watch the weather rolling in from Bass Strait, knowing it’s going to hit soon. It’s like sitting in the front row at the theatre.”