WINNER: Residential Construction over $250,000

PROJECT BRIEF
Domic (Russian for House of Domes), is an off-the-grid eco lair on the doorstep of Noosa National Park overlooking the Pacific Ocean that puts landscape architecture in the driving seat of high-end residential design. The house is nestled into the sand dune wrapping its roof and walls in a blanket of natural vegetation endemic to the area as the client’s request was for a seamless flow from the National park into the house. He wanted it to be organic and respectful to the land, thus the project explored bespoke designs and innovations in green roof and green wall systems so that the landscape could be seamlessly integrated with the architecture.

With limited access and a shared driveway and very little laydown area, the logistics of building a $20 million home and then landscaping it was endless. We had a crane that could access 70% of the site for the majority of the construction so a large % of the materials were craned into position in bags. We even had to crane the excavator over the house into the position to build the retaining walls. The selection, delivery method and packaging of every material was thoroughly planned. A lot of the planting, mulching, step stones and tile glues and sand/ cement were carried manually down to the areas needed. With the addition of larger pandanus once the project was complete and now no access for a larger crane the only option to get a 5-tonne pandanus into position was with a helicopter. We took off from the local airfield, across the roads and then flew them 500m out into the ocean along the coastline to the house. That highlighted the difficulty of access for this project.

JUDGES COMMENTS
“This Sunshine Beach project is a stand-out among the entries. In what would have been a complex logistical negotiation, the landscape has been constructed to the highest of standards. The resultant landscape is pioneering achievement for residential landscapes where the seamless visual flow into the natural surrounds, belies its complex underpinning.”