fbpx DAN | Daily Architecture News Beachside beauty: Pavilion Street residences in Queenscliff by SJB - DAN | Daily Architecture News
Beachside beauty: Pavilion Street residences in Queenscliff by SJB

Beachside beauty: Pavilion Street residences in Queenscliff by SJB

News
Residential Design
17-06-2021
WATCH: Global architecture and design highlights, including the Pavilion Street residences by SJB.

Overlooking the spectacular northern headland of Manly Beach, Sydney, the surrounding sandstone cliff face and undercroft inspired the materiality for this multi-residential project in Queenscliff. Tired and riddled with concrete cancer from decades of exposure to sea salt, the original building was beyond salvage. The challenge for Sydney-based architecture firm SJB was to deliver something new – six luxury beachside dwellings that would sit entirely within the envelope of the existing building.

The beautiful colour and weathered texture of brick provided the ready (and obvious) answer to the client’s brief for a local material that could withstand exposure to coastal conditions. The ‘Emperor’ brick in Ghost from Krause Bricks was selected for its handmade variation in texture and array of colours, from warm blondes to violet hues, which recall the streaks of colour in the weathered sandstone cliffs below. Hand-mixed on site, the bricks were carefully installed to express the muddled colour variation, whilst evoking a familiarity of material with the brick walk-up apartment blocks in this iconic beach suburb.

Pavilion Street residences in Queenscliff by SJB
Pavilion Street residences in Queenscliff by SJB
Pavilion Street residences in Queenscliff by SJB.

Pavilion Street residences in Queenscliff by SJB

Location Queenscliff, NSW
Function
Apartments
Client
DVB Projects
Architect
SJB
Builder
Impero Pacific Group Pty Ltd
Structural engineer
Rincovitch Consultants
Services engineer
EWFW Consulting Engineers

Expressed concrete slabs at the building’s edges tie the inset brick panels back into the rows of glazed windows along the north and south facades. These windows open out to the 180-degree views on offer to the residents. The demarcation between the apartment and the lift/stair zone was achieved with curved insets to the floor plate, further accentuated by the running board bond of the brickwork. Form design and materiality were chosen to animate the building yet also tone down its overwhelming scale, which typifies architecture of the 1950s. 

Apartment residents enjoy large-scale uninterrupted views of Freshwater Beach, the South Pacific Ocean and Sydney city in the distance. The sandstone cliffs form a natural pedestal for this luxurious building, which puts it out and exposed in the open. This is offset by the subtle fine grain texture of the brickwork, creating comfort and a sense of shelter. 

A refined and unique response to the site, Pavilion Street balances the individual need for retreat and privacy with a seamless connection to the vibrant surf culture of Sydney’s northern suburbs. 

Pavilion Street residences by SJB is just one on many projects featured in Materialty 2021, a free cloth-bound publication from Brickworks that explores the use of brick and concrete block in contemporary architecture. Register for your free copy.

sjb.com.au

A refined and unique response to the site, Pavilion Street balances the individual need for retreat and privacy with a seamless connection to the vibrant surf culture of Sydney’s northern suburbs.

Materiality 2021
Pavilion Street residences in Queenscliff by SJB
Pavilion Street residences in Queenscliff by SJB

This article is an edited extract from Materiality 2021, a publication by Brickworks Building Products

Catch up on more architecture highlights. Plus, subscribe to Daily Architecture News for weekly updates delivered directly to your inbox.

Related stories

Advertisement
Login to join the conversation

Subscriber comments are moderated first. Respect others. Criticise ideas, not people. No offensive language View commenting guidelines

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Further Reading
View all in News
Cole Hair Studio in Double Bay by Nickolas Gurtler Office
Finding resonance with Nickolas’ razor-sharp design style, Mariah commissioned NGO to transform her commercial site on New South Head Road into a thrumming hair hub, where edginess and “adventurousness,” Nickolas says, could share the spotlight with a fair share of socialites. But first, the designer and his team needed to overcome the ghosts of hair-salons […]
News
07-07-2222
'Pure gold': Au79 cafe at Chadstone by Mim Design 
In addition to this, the client’s brief included the desire to create “a moment of pure gold,” Miriam reveals, prompting her team at Mim Design to craft a textural, gilded oasis within the confines of Chadstone. The dramatic, vaulted glass ceiling above the pill-shaped site inspired the designers to explore ideas of replicating a greenhouse […]
News
28-06-2222
Galei Kinneret Hotel in Israel by Saar Zafrir Design
Dating back to 1946, the Galei Kinneret boasts a rich and storied history. The founder, inspired by a trip she took to the Villa d’Este hotel on Lake Como, fitted it out with Persian rugs and antiques she had procured from all over the world. While its monumental facade has remained intact, its latest reimagining […]
News
16-06-2222
Open to the elements: A tropical brutalist villa in Bali
A minimalist facade with a curved wall clad in cream tiles serves as a slip entrance to the villa and was inspired by the arched ceilings of Sydney’s train tunnels, a feature the Australian owner researched as part of the project. At the top of the site are two bedrooms followed by a decline of […]
News
14-06-2222
Haute hotel: Inside the long-awaited Aman New York
Guided by the pulse of the city and imbued with Aman’s inimitable design philosophy – one that pays homage to the striking architectural history of the original building – Aman New York is a lesson in understated elegance and urban comfort. The hotel welcomes its guests 14 floors above street level, where a double-height atrium instills […]
News
11-06-2222
Hotel Cala Di Volpe in Sardinia by Moinard Bétaille Agency
A retelling of sorts, Moinard Bétaille’s gentle approach to the renovation of Hotel Cala di Volpe on Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda pays homage to its original architect, the late “sculptor of houses” Jacques Couëlle, with a new narrative that speaks of a storied past while being anchored firmly in the present. Four years in the making, […]
News
09-06-2222

Back to Top