Dunalley House on the Tasman Peninsular is a project for a young family recovering from the dramatic loss of their family holiday retreat during the devastating 2013 Dunalley bushfire. The 10ha property was left scorched and barren. The original holiday home destroyed while the family watched from the foreshore below. The client brief was for a primarily concrete building: solid and protective yet connecting with the expansive outlook across Dunalley Bay. The new building was located proximate to the water.

A moderate budget and tight timeframe encouraged a semi-modular approach to construction of pre-fabricated steel and precast concrete panels. A high “bushfire attack level” rating influenced material choice. Low profile, the building stretches across the site, in response to the expansive milieu. Planning is elementary: a bunker for sleeping, and a pavilion for living, separated by a long deck that serves as both entry and axis to the bay beyond. The quiet interior allows for contemplation of changing light and weather. The deck extends on the ocean side to a fire dish, as a beacon on the bluff, a place to congregate and perhaps, a symbol of the force that transformed the property.

Dunalley won the Residential - New, in the Tasmanian AIA Architecture Awards 2016 and was finalist in 2017 World Architecture News Awards.