The Wavefront Townhouses development is situated in the small seaside community of Lennox Head in Northern New South Wales, Australia and has been heavily influenced by the surrounding environment and the architecture of the client’s homeland.  The project was developed by Sydney-based firm The Quinlan Group.

Functionally, the building has been designed to work either as two separate units or one large dwelling, with the living areas located on the upper level under a large flat roof overlooking the beach. The bedrooms and wet areas are contained within the podium of the upper level and these, in turn, are supported by a third level of parking and services contained within a stone clad base. This gives the project a very clear vertical hierarchy, both spatially and materially.

The roof has been designed to hide all the structure for the upper level, allowing the removal of all support structure from the corners of the living areas, and creating a seamless transition between the internal living areas and the large covered outdoor terraces.  The living areas orient to the north, with the uninterrupted western façade providing maximum passive solar control, while high level glazing throughout captures and funnels the predominant trade winds.

The dynamic street façade appears as a single integrated development, and references the fluid movement of the world class surf break the development overlooks.  The pared back, low maintenance landscaping, white washed façades, and extensive use of ceramic tiles both reference the architecture of the Greek Islands from where the client’s family originates and provides a great reference for minimal ocean side development.

The project features 450 sq. metres of tiles from Casalgrande Padana.  The Amazzonia range from the Pietre Native collection was used in 900 by 450mm in Dragon Grey with a natural grip finish.  From the Granitoker collection, 10.5mm Newood timber-effect tiles were used in 900 by 150mm and 900 by 110mm in cream and beige; both with a matt finish.

Casalgrande Padana
The Quinlan Group

A new post by Joe Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, October 2017.