On a family-owned tomato farm in Queensland’s hilly, rugged bushland of Yandina, a young Pilates practitioner sought a modest home that maintained a visual and spiritual connection with the land that held so many memories. While the brief to architects Atelier Chen Hung was for a two-bedroom home with functional and modest spaces, there was one important request: “To see the sunrise from the bedroom and appreciate this peaceful moment of the day.”
The rugged terrain on which Yandina Sunrise sits required the architect to adapt a “skewed boxed form”
“The selection of economical and utilitarian material such as corrugated metal cladding adds to a textural response,” says architect Melody Chen of Atelier Chen Hung. “Its white undulating profile takes cues from the qualities of the family farm’s white vaulted structure, drawing references to the simplicity and the presence of this agricultural building in the landscape.”
Materials are natural and textured to reflect the rural environment, and a white-painted interior enables light to bounce softly around the floor plan at times when the home is shaded by the surrounding tall trees
The restrained material palette of Yandina Sunrise ensures the focus is always on the landscape beyond. Materials are natural and textured to reflect the rural environment, and a white-painted interior enables light to bounce softly around the floor plan when the home is shaded by the surrounding tall trees. Victorian ash joinery adds warmth and tactility to the utilitarian space, complemented by a pale pink terrazzo.
The interior palette at Yandina Sunrise is restrained and minimal in order to allow the surrounding landscape to always be the focal point of any space
To comply with the homeowner’s desire for modest living, Yandina Sunrise has minimal reliance on mechanical heating and cooling while also utilising low-maintenance structural materials. Optimised orientation of the home and its openings ensures the winter sunlight is absorbed by the concrete slab that “acts as a thermal mass”, while the combination of “a shallow floor plan and large openings allows cooling breeze to cross-ventilate the house during the hot summer”. Robust building materials such as mini-orb metal cladding also require minimal upkeep and are 100 per cent recyclable.
Victorian ash joinery adds warmth and tactility to the utilitarian space, complemented by a pale pink terrazzo
“The project has captured the spirit of the landscape and the client’s special connection with the place. It focuses on what is essential to elevate one’s quality of life in a compact footprint, enriched by meaningful connections to moments in time and place,” concludes Melody.
