This is author's fourth book showcasing architect-designed beach houses in Australia and New Zealand. Why the fascination with beach houses？ Was it childhood vacations spent on the coast, or simply memories of happy times at the local beach？ As a child growing up in Brighton, a bayside suburb of Melbourne, he spent endless days lazing on the sand and running in and out of the water. But these things aside,I've always regarded the beach and the sea as liberating environments, places that draw you away from the rituals of everyday life.
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In the introduction to his fourth collection of'Down Under' beach houses, author Stephen Crafti asks,'Why the fascination with beach houses？' He proposes a number of theories: happy childhood memories, the freedom of the seaside, the experience of getting away from it all. But aside from these intangibles, he notes, the opportunity to discover great architecture along the coast is a perennial source of interest and just a little bit of envy.
The 50 beach houses featured in this book represent the spectrum of beach architecture. Some are brand new; some are built on the bones of much-loved family beach shacks,now modernised to suit extended families and friends.Without the confines of city planning laws, architects are free to indulge in playful or flamboyant designs that are perfectly at home in the casual beach environment.The brief from homeowners, too, tends towards the informal,reflecting the relaxed seaside lifestyle.
That they are architect-designed is evident in many aspects.The way the houses nestle into the sand dunes or scrub,catch the perfect amount of sunlight, harvest the optimum a mount of rainwater, or deliver perfect views through picture windows is the result of many hours in the design studio.Some are designed to take advantage of more fleeting, but precious elements of the beach, such as the sounds of bird and animal life, or the crashing of nearby surf.
As Crafti says, beach houses have come a long way since the fibro-cement shacks of the 1950s.This collection of recent houses is a tribute to the architects, and to the uniquely beautiful coastlines of Australia and New Zealand that provide the backdrop and inspiration.
