Inside Australia’s Most Breathtaking Holiday Home (House Tour)

Thoroughly integrated with its surroundings, Pippins by Webster Architecture & Interiors is an architecturally restrained, breathtaking holiday home that embodies a thoughtful response to its environment.

Located in Red Hill on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, flanked by vineyards and with views to the bay, Pippins serves as a holiday house for a Melbourne-based family. Dan Webster, principal of Webster Architecture & Interiors, says there were two elements that dictated the overall layout and form of the breathtaking holiday home. “Firstly, it was around protection from the winds that howl up the hill from the bay,” he says. “We also wanted to enable views of the bay because it is the most striking aspect of this site.”

As Pippins is set far from the street, the architectural experience begins as soon as one enters the site. “We created this sense of entry and approach where we’re not revealing the whole house,” says Webster. “We just wanted to give a glimpse of what is to come, so as you drive in, you see the corner of the roof popping over the shoulder of these man-made grass mounds. This allows you to move down the levels of the site to the entrance level of the house.”

A single-storey, X-shaped structure, Pippins features large expanses of glass that give access to both the views and the entertaining spaces at the front and rear of the home. Its two solid concrete roofs overlap, cantilevering 2.5 metres along the perimeter of the home and extending 3.5 metres at the corners. The soffit of the roof tapers up to a 100-millimetre bullnose, imbuing the breathtaking holiday home with a sense of lightness. “One of my favourite aspects is the overlap between the two roofs, with the lower pavilion roof tucking underneath the upper roof – you get this really cool cross-section of the two concrete forms,” says Webster. In response to the windiness of its location, the house is formed of robust materials: Krause bricks combine with steel which, sitting above the brickwork, separates it from the concrete roof.

The wide, gallery-style entrance of the breathtaking holiday home presents a framed view of the bay directly ahead. At its beginning, the entryway is flanked by service and utility spaces to the right and a secondary bedroom wing to the left, comprising three bedrooms set up in a hotel-style suite with wardrobes, ensuites and an area large enough for both a lounge and bed. Back in the entry, and moving towards the framed view, one turns right into the primary suite with a bedroom, walk-in wardrobe and ensuite, or left into the living-kitchen-dining space. Generous amounts of glazing on both sides of the room establish panoramic views of the bay as well as a visual connection to the internal garden. In the evening when the view is no longer visible, sheer curtains can be drawn to create a sense of warmth and cosiness.

Throughout the design, documentation and construction phases involved in the creation of Pippins, Webster Architecture & Interiors remained committed to the vision of a breathtaking holiday home. The resulting residence – a product of collaboration between architect, builders, tradesmen, consultants and client – resists strong winds, embraces sweeping views and enhances its residents’ quality of life.

00:00 - Introduction to Australia’s Most Breathtaking Holiday Home
01:01 - The Slow Revealing Entry
01:41 - A Walkthrough of the Home
03:24 - The Design Process and Methodology
04:30 - A Robust Material Palette
05:08 - Favourite Aspects

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Photography by Timothy Kaye.
Architecture and interior design by Webster Architecture & Interiors.
Build by Mazzei.
Styling by SJB.
Landscape design by Nathan Burkett Landscape Architecture.
Landscape installation by Fields.
Vehicle by Range Rover.
Filmed and edited by Nice Film Co.
Production by The Local Production.

Location: Red Hill, Victoria

The Local Project acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land in Australia. We recognise the importance of Indigenous peoples in the identity of our country and continuing connections to Country and community. We pay our respect to Elders, past and present and extend that respect to all Indigenous people of these lands.

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