Babylon House and Patonga House: Visions of Living on the Australian Coast

In New South Wales, Australia, two homes by Casey Brown Architecture demonstrate similar approaches to experiencing the Australian landscape.

Babylon House, sited on the rocky heights of Avalon, and Patonga House, located at the mouth of the Hawkesbury River, are both the result of an architectural approach that does not impose on the site but treats it as a design opportunity and building block.

Babylon House: Between past and present

Babylon House stands on a scenic peak. Like the Tower of Babel, which inspired its name, the home seems to grow out from the sandstone on which it rests. The project involved restoring and updating a 1950s building designed by Edwin Kingsberry, while preserving its eccentric personality and continuing its narrative as a careful balance between memory and transformation.

Access has been improved with a sculptural carport canopy clad in photovoltaic panels and a small cable car that leads to the main terrace, while a long stone stairway, which predates the renovation, remains in place.

A redesigned kitchen, which is nestled under the existing roof and opens onto a patio, has given the interiors a new flow. Oriented to maximize the views, a new bedroom wing and study seem almost suspended over the slope to avoid damaging the roots of the large Australian-native Angophora trees.

A carefully chosen palette creates a material continuity, with black timber and stone referencing the existing fabric, and terrazzo and weathered timbers introducing a new and coherent expression. From solar energy to the care devoted to preserving the site, sustainability informed every design decision. The studio has preserved the house’s storybook quality while making it more livable and better able to respond to the owners’ needs into the future.

>>> Discover John and Susan Wardle’s beach house in Anglesea on Australia’s southern coast.

Patonga House: Anchored and intimate

Farther south, at the mouth of the Hawkesbury River, Patonga House is an understated reinterpretation of the beach house archetype. Raised on a concrete platform to protect it against tidal surges, the structure is screened by two smaller pavilions on the street side that create a private courtyard.

Inside, the main space is organized around changes in ceiling height that create a sequence of defined living areas, lit by a north-facing window that acts as a natural calendar, projecting shafts of light across the walls depending on the season. Despite its compact plan, the house can accommodate up to 12 people with its flexible spaces and a second garage that converts to an extra room.

The extensive use of local and recycled materials reinforces the home’s connection to place. Beams and pillars were salvaged from a disused bridge over the Clarence River, the kitchen island is made from a recycled teak lab bench, while local wood was used for the doors and surfaces. Local spotted gum is oiled inside and rough sawn outside so that it will weather like the nearby houses.

Orientation, insulation, natural ventilation, and adjustable shading make the house efficient and appropriate for its seaside climate. This is an essential, durable dwelling that maintains a restrained, respectful dialogue with its setting.

Babylon House and Patonga House showcase the studio’s measured approach to creating architecture that is both context sensitive and designed to evolve over time. Both are flexible, functional domestic systems, each responding to its occupants’ needs while deeply engaging with the Australian landscape in a considered, sustainable way.

>>> Discover Splinter Society’s Hotel House in South Yarra, a suburb of Melbourne