The Australian beach house of architect Robin Williams and his partner, opera-singer Donald Cant, offers a stunning series of nearly empty white and glass boxes designed to inspire.
Profiled in Wallpaper, the award-winning hillside home just outside of Melbourne, known as Villa Marittima, frames aquamarine ocean views with full-wall glass windows that retract to open the home to the outside.
Inspired by Herzog & de Meuron’s Laban Dance Centre in London, Williams used thick panels of translucent polycarbonate for the walls. During the day, the home is suffused with light. At night, it glows like a lantern.
The entrance opens onto a sloped concrete ramp that also serves as the master bedroom. "I spent a considerable amount of time exploring the sand dunes to find the most comfortable position," Williams told Wallpaper. "I took hundreds of photos to get the comfort factor right. If the ground is too flat, it’s uncomfortable."
At the top of the ramp is an open, bare living room and dining room. The hidden components of the, including cabinets and counter, can be pulled out from the wall in three sections.
The dining room opens onto an outdoor pool with a submerged yellow walkway leading to a "secret garden." The pool also shares a glass wall with the home's guest room, accessed through a separate outdoor entrance.
Light, airy, and exquisitely empty, the home feels like a seaside retreat from the everyday world.
Clear winner: an Australian beach house is a translucent triumph [Wallpaper]
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