Tama’s Tee Home: A four-storey beach house renovated by Luigi Rosselli Architects
Renovated by Luigi Rosselli Architects, this home is located in Tamarama, a Sydney beach suburb, famous for its hedonistic surf culture, gradually being gentrified by a population that exchanges stock market tips while running barefoot to the ocean with a surfboard tucked under their arms.
Tama’s Tee Home was constructed on what was solid and reusable from the previous house. About half of the original structure was kept.
“The new concrete ‘Tee’ structure to the front of the house was designed so that it would rest on the single point of the garage structure below that would bear the weight; this explains the ‘unipod’ shape to the front façade of the home and the need to provide it with a solid concrete structure,” said the architects.
Highly weather-resistant materials were chosen for the beach house, such as marine-grade roofing materials and stainless-steel fixings. “The salt, humidity and wind are implacable agents of rapid decay,” the architects explained. “If used properly, concrete is quite resistant to such seaside aggression.”
To adapt to the hillside, the house was built over four levels. Located on the third level, the main living area benefits from ocean views to the northeast and a sheltered terrace to the northwest side that is protected from the strong coastal winds.
Project Architect Raffaello Rosselli provided his own detailing and material palette interpretation for a refined beach house, embracing natural materials, exposed roof framing and light finishes.
Photography by: Prue Roscoe
