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A contemporary riverside replacement home designed for flood resilience, combining elevated architecture, boathouse-inspired forms and panoramic water views.
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Rebuilding for the Future
The Island is a contemporary replacement home on a unique waterside site. Following a devastating fire that destroyed the original property, the brief was to create a resilient new family home that not only responded to its exceptional riverside setting but was designed to withstand the environmental challenges of the future.
Located within a high flood risk zone, the new house has been elevated on stilts, protecting the living accommodation from extreme flood events while creating a distinctive architectural response to its setting.
Inspired by the River
The architecture draws inspiration from the simple forms of traditional riverside boathouses. Two projecting gabled volumes, wrapped in dark standing seam zinc, create a contemporary interpretation of the local vernacular without resorting to imitation.
Deep roof overhangs and carefully proportioned forms reduce the building's visual impact on the river frontage, allowing the house to sit comfortably within its landscape while establishing a confident architectural identity of its own.
Living with the Landscape
Elevating the house provides more than flood resilience - it transforms the experience of living within it.
The principal living spaces are positioned to maximise panoramic views across the water, with full-height glazing extending through dramatic double-height spaces to the apex of the gables. The result is a home filled with natural light and constantly connected to its surroundings.
Along the roadside elevation, glazing is carefully controlled and filtered through vertical timber fins, maintaining privacy while preserving daylight and natural ventilation.
Contemporary Design for a Changing Climate
The Island demonstrates how contemporary architecture can respond creatively to environmental challenges. Rather than treating flood resilience as a constraint, the design embraces it, creating a home that is elevated both physically and architecturally.
By combining robust environmental thinking with a sensitive response to its riverside context, the project creates a distinctive new home that is designed to endure for generations while celebrating its unique waterside setting.