Port Douglas

When briefed to design a holiday house for an extended family in Port Douglas, Charles Wright Architects created a unique home that could comfortably accommodate multiple families, while also offering an alternative style to the neighbouring Queenslander homes.

“While designing this home we were able to investigate progressive tropical architecture in a contemporary context while also focusing on reducing environmental impact and energy costs,” says architect Charles Wright.
“We wanted to create a very cool house which meant ecologically sustainable design (ESD) principles were critical in the home’s design.”The entire building opens onto reflection ponds and pools allowing for evaporative cooling and it has been oriented and further engineered to utilise and control the prevailing winds and summer breezes.

The roof cavity is double insulated and separately vented – eliminating heat gain from the roof.
Mr Wright said, “the combination of ESD initiatives and planning eliminates the need for air-conditioning, as the house creates its own breezes even on the most still days.”

The home’s internal walls feature glazed brickwork, reminiscent of the designs of modernist Australian architect, Robin Boyd.
The face brick is not only aesthetically pleasing, bringing a “rawness” to the home, but it was also critical in achieving the home’s ESD goals due to brick’s thermal mass properties. More importantly however, it also provided the load bearing capacity to meet the home’s structural requirements for cyclone readiness.

The result is a striking building which visible from the main road into Port Douglas now acts as an identifiable landmark with an undeniable public presence.
In 2008 the home picked up top architecture commendations at the prestigious Royal Australian Institute of Architects 2008 Regional Architecture Awards.

The Jury said: “This is a house that both confounds and inspires! It seems to depart from convention, yet uses convention to achieve conceptual inventiveness.
This courageous reinterpretation of tropical design takes us out of our comfort zone and acknowledges that the challenges of adapting to climate change require progressive solutions.”