This nimble beach house enjoys panoramic views over the southern ocean and surf beach. Located on top of the ridgeline above the Great Ocean Road on the Victorian coastline, the proportions, orientation and dimensions of windows are tailored to particular views and to reveal internal spaces. This beach house coils and steps around a protected central courtyard, which creates an outdoor space sheltered from the harsh prevailing winds. The living area doors and an oversized sliding kitchen window open up and integrate the courtyard with the house during fine weather. Materially the house is clad in a green-grey zinc cladding, for both its longevity and natural colouring that merges with the scrub and tea tree landscape. In contrast, the interior surfaces of the house are completely lined in timber to form an enclosure for living that its inhabitants become completely immersed within. 2013 AIA Vic Award for Residential Architecture: ‘Set high up overlooking Bass Strait, this house belies belief in its pursuit of a sublime aesthetic in architecture’ (Awards Jury)