“Tristania” is a place that welcomes and embraces memorable family holidays in its natural coastal environment. It provides connectedness between spaces and people in the spirit of ‘the shack’ that was relocated from the site. Landscape is celebrated, with both double-height and cozy spaces for living. These spaces are porous and permeable, from the plunge pool on the northeast to the fire pit on the west. Careful siting preserves and celebrates the magnificence of the sculptural Moreton Bay Ash trees, Pandanus, and Banksias.

The light-filtering “breezeway” entry and circulation space set the tone and character, connecting the modern, timeless, sustainable, and climatically responsive series of spaces for indoor/outdoor living. The graphic shadows and sunlight tracking through the space register time and season, while moonlight through the house is magic.

Two “wings”—one for living and the other for sleeping—allow individual zones to open onto the central breezeway space, where the character of an easy coastal lifestyle is amplified. It is a breathable house to suit our benign subtropical climate and celebrates an inextricable link to its coastal landscape.