Invincible Summer

Packed with all the ingredients for an everlasting holiday mood, this inspiring home celebrates views of Port Phillip Bay via vibrant green outlooks.

As longtime friends of the owners, architects Rachel Nolan and Patrick Kennedy of Kennedy Nolan Architects know this place intimately. So, when it came to designing a new beach house for a couple with adult children, they could appreciate both the history of this site and what could be realised on the impressive plot at Somers, overlooking Port Phillip Bay.

While Rachel and Patrick enjoy spending time with their friends at Somers, they along with their clients could see the shortcomings of the two-storey 1980s home that was partially buried in the hilly site. Having the view of the water to the south of the beachside property also limited the amount of light it received and meant it suffered poor cross ventilation.

"There was almost a tension between the aspect and the original house," says Rachel, who from the outset was captivated by the majestic gumtree that framed the water's edge.

The other dilemma facing Kennedy Nolan Architects was, as with many other practices, building during Covid and outside of Melbourne, which is about 90 minutes away. "We quickly realised how valuable our builder Peter Bartlett from Bartlett Constructions was as well as our landscape designer Amanda Oliver," says Rachel, pointing out both the level of detail achieved with this build and the way the gardens have been conceived - one with a natural coastal style sits on the waterside while the other is a more Europeanstyle garden seen upon arrival at the house.