WOW HOUSE WITH BARRY DU BOIS THE PLANE CRASH Have you ever loved a family vacation so much that you never wanted it to end? This question is at the very heart of the story of one of Australia s most impressive and unique beach houses. Barry discovers Australia s most unique beach house on the North Queensland coast. The Drew house, otherwise known as The Pods is a two-bedroom holiday house built to represent the old fashioned campsite on the beach. The locals refer to it as the plane wreck due to its unusual structure and it's challenging our ideas of what a house should be.
THE DREWHOUSE: THE PODS Photographer Marian Drew and her brother Derek have always had the memories of their teenage camping trips bright in their minds. They ve always felt a special connection with that small stretch of coastline on the mid-queensland coast. After Marian worked with architect Simon Laws on a public art installation in Brisbane, they began to discuss the possibility of creating a beach house in her old stomping ground. Chief among Marian and Derek s desires was to maintain that camping feel to the entire project. A connection to the land was all-important to the Drews. They decided to take a trip up to the coastline campsite together with Simon to get their creative juices flowing. On the journey, they stopped off at Marian and Derek s childhood home a sugar mill. As fate would have it, the entire mill was in the process of being demolished. Although it was very emotional for Derek and Marian to see their old home being ripped apart, the industrial shapes and curves on display served as a fantastic inspiration for Simon. Inspiration for the Design The design evolved into what Barry sees in this episode. The main living area is an elongated cylindrical shape that is reminiscent of a plane s fuselage hence the plane crash nickname. The house s long walkway that leads up the to the front also reminds the locals of a runway, even complete with landing strip lights at night. Marian believes it s more like a silo on its side, drawn directly from their sugar mill roots. The main living area, housed under a Colorbond steel ARAMAX profile canopy, is the main place to relax in the house. The family is drawn to this space from the more separate bedroom areas or pods. With the main living area outside, the connection to the land and campsite feel are reinforced even more. The Colorbond steel skin of the house not only achieves the industrial look of their childhood but it s also practical and highly functional. While corrugated iron would be a more nostalgic material, Colorbond is a much more sensible option. This is because of its durability, versatility and its resistance to the elements. Being so close to the ocean, the steel s resistance to salt in the air is yet another reason to choose Colorbond. On top of that, and one of Marian s favourite features of Colorbond steel, is there s no need for painting. The colour is baked on and chosen from a palette of 22 colours.
When Barry walks into the combined living and kitchen area, he is struck by the perfect blend of style and utility. This is never more apparent than with the circular paneled window at the end of the room. Architect Simon Laws came up with the design to be structurally sound, visually striking and functional all at the same time. The ability to open and close whichever panel they wish means that Marian and Drew can regulate the airflow through the home and keep the space cool. As Marian takes Barry into the bedroom pod section of the house, it s obvious the campsite feeling extends throughout the entire space. Set up like 3 person tents, the rooms offer a great place for rest and relaxation with large sliding windows to again connect the guests to the outdoors. When the sun goes down and the mozzies come out, the windows slide shut to maintain the comfort of such a stylish home. Just like the rest of the house, Barry notices that even the bathroom combines the best of the outdoors with modern comfort. Just like the bedroom pods, the bathroom has a large sliding screen that opens directly to the outdoors. Sitting in the bath, nature is just an arms length away. It s this serene setting that makes the bathroom Marian s favourite room in the house. To add that final touch of class, Marian has utilized her amazing photography skills to add a highly stylized shot of her daughter to part of the window screen to give the impression that there is always someone in the room. Such a fantastic and picturesque house usually provoked people to ask how much? But as Marian states the house is relatively inexpensive, built from materials that are widely available, and contains very simple lines and shapes. It s Barry that identifies why this house works so well it s just impeccably thought out.
MORE ON COLORBOND STEEL Colorbond Steel is one of Australia s leading construction materials Tried and tested for over 45 years in the harshest Australian conditions built to last warranties for roofing go up to 36 years! Tested in all Australian weather conditions and guaranteed to stand the test of time whether it be blazing sun, driving rain or salt water in the air Looks better for longer advanced paint technology allows baked-on colours from a 22 strong palette that last for years and are resistant to cracking, reeling and chipping Have recently added another layer of protection the Colorbond Activate technology o Activate adds an extra layer of protection making it one of the world s toughest and most durable building materials o Activate also uses less metal resources so is much more sustainable than original Colorbond Colorbond steel also contains Thermatech technology which is an effective way of reducing your household s reliance on things such as air conditioning and heating Why did Simon Laws choose Colorbond? o Chief among his reasons was the ease of rolling the steel. While being durable and tough, the steel is also remarkably light which eases the logistical considerations when transporting as well as setting up on site o Simon went with the Smurfist colour to get maximum colour from the reflecting bright sunshine. The colour blends brilliantly with the surrounding banksia and palms o The main fuselage or living area of the house is made from the CUSTOM ORB profile characterized by it s more subtle corrugation o The more exuberant and radical sloping roofs of the various pods through the house are from the more zig-zagging ARAMAX profile still in the Smurfist colour o Simon chose the ARAMAX for it s bold statement appearance as well as its ability to be churned out in large sheets on site. This allowed the custom shapes of the roofs to be moulded into their pagoda-like parabolas o Not only does the curve of the roof add an elegant touch to the beach house it also assists in their desire to have no air conditioning ventilation is key
WEBLINKS Colorbond Steel http://colorbond.com Do you want to spend some time at the Plane Wreck? Check it out here: http://www.stayz.com.au/accommodation/qld/bundaberg-region/town-of-1770/84929