HOLIDAY HOUSE IN BEROWRA WATERS
COBA POINT RETREAT
Location : Berowra Waters, New South Wales, Australia
Type : Holiday retreat
Status : in-Progress | 2026
Coba Point Retreat is a remote holiday retreat perched above the waterways of Berowra Waters, conceived as both an architectural response to landscape and a direct outcome of its highly constrained site access. Reachable only by boat or helicopter, the project demanded that construction logistics be embedded into the design process from the outset—shaping not only how the house is built, but how it is experienced.
The house is composed as a series of calm, horizontal planes that extend outward from the steeply sloping terrain, lightly touching the landscape rather than cutting into it. Elevated concrete slabs and slender structural supports allow the building to hover above the hillside, preserving existing vegetation and maintaining uninterrupted views across the water. The architecture reads as grounded and quiet, yet technically precise—an outcome of careful coordination between structure, prefabrication, and site conditions.
Given the site’s isolation, all major building components were designed for off-site prefabrication, with elements manufactured away from the site and transported by water and air for final assembly. This approach informed module sizing, structural spans, material selection, and junction detailing, resulting in a building system that is efficient, repeatable, and exacting. Construction becomes an extension of the design intent rather than a constraint imposed upon it.
Materiality reinforces this clarity. Robust concrete slabs are paired with warm timber linings and full-height glazing, creating interiors that feel simultaneously sheltered and open. External materials continue inward, blurring thresholds and reinforcing a strong connection between inside and out. Living spaces, bedrooms, and terraces are orientated toward the water, allowing the surrounding landscape to remain the dominant presence.
Designed as a holiday house and private retreat, Coba Point prioritises stillness, light, and retreat from everyday life. The project reflects an architecture shaped as much by how it is built as by how it is lived in—where construction logic, environmental sensitivity, and spatial calm are seamlessly intertwined.
