Whoota Residence and Cabins
Whoota, NSW (2006)
This project includes cabin accommodation and a residence on a 12 hectare site looking north over Wallis Lake, near Forster, NSW. The residence is now complete.
The site is subject to periodic flooding. Two concrete box “piers” anchor the building while the upper structure is either cantilevered or supported on concrete columns to allow water to flow under and around the structure. A bit like the concept of a service station canopy. Even the concrete lap-pool is raised to the floor level. It gives the impression of a giant bath as you swim out, away from the building.
Bushfire restrictions precluded integrating the facility within the native forest. The cleared area to the north satisfied most of the regulatory planning controls but as a result, offered an area that was detached from the natural setting. The architectural device used to deal with this was to create a project that deliberately contrasted with the setting. The idea was to use the architecture to emphasize the natural setting rather than compete with it.
The buildings are set along a strongly defined path linking the water to the bush. They are situated along side and don’t interrupt the path. Visitors become observers on the path over time. The more permanent structures are moored to the path. They have heavy bases — off form concrete, with light tops — cedar cladding. This planning draws on the conceptual work of the artist Richard Long. He created Walking Lines by walking backwards and forwards along the same path over an entire day and then photographed the result. It’s an attempt to emphasize the concept of time and human intervention by allowing movement (walking) to create a form (the line or path). I wanted to link this idea back to the concept of a short term visitor stay on the property, except in this case we have pre-determined the path or line.
Maybe the architecture will to some degree offer an explanation of the site by prompting the visitor to reflect on the reason for their visit.
Builder: Owner/Builder
Engineer: Lewis Engineering
Panels: Simply Precast
Steelwork: G&N Fabricators