London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 19, 2025

This Energy-Efficient Prefab Is One Family’s Weekend Retreat by the Beach

This Energy-Efficient Prefab Is One Family’s Weekend Retreat by the Beach

In designing a getaway for her own family, architect Hannah Tribe created a sustainable kit home that’s as breezy as it looks.

This weekend home south of Sydney is more than just an escape for architect Hannah Tribe and her family. Situated at the edge of Royal National Park in the beachside hamlet of Bundeena, the design by Hannah, principal and founder of Tribe Studio Architects, is also a prototype for a new kind of kit home.



Architect Hannah Tribe designed her family’s holiday home-a nod to the fisher cottages in the area-using prefab technologies. "We moved away from modular," explains Hannah, "because New South Wales has steep, windy roads which can make modular tricky, and kit construction provides opportunities for more local labor, supporting regional communities."

Looking at it from the street, the roughly 540-square-foot design presents itself modestly enough. Its minimalist timber-clad exterior nods to local vernacular, keeping with fishing cottages prevalent in the region that stand in large gardens with their rectilinear forms. Hannah’s innovations-and this is where the Bundeena home parts ways with the buildings of yore-are primarily concerned with economy of materials, energy efficiency, and sustainability, which allow the design to be replicated affordably and with ease in a variety of settings.

Everything relies on a "strict mathematic logic," says Hannah. Although she doesn’t dive into the numbers, the design starts with a concrete slab, and a modular timber frame that rises roughly 17 feet without the support of structural steel. Hannah could have expanded the home’s tight footprint and added a second level to capture water views, but that would have betrayed the area’s aesthetics.



The family-friendly design can host up to 12 people and is sturdy enough to withstand "salt and sand," says Hannah.



It doesn’t take much to heat the entire home, but on chillier days, a French Philippe Chemise fireplace does the trick.



"This house is a retreat from busy city lives that encourages a slower way of living by the beach," explains Hannah. "It is a garden- and cooking-focused holiday home and a place where children and adults are connected." The painting is by Australian artist Gemma Smith.



The open kitchen is perfect for Hannah and her family, who love cooking for crowds.

"We could have had glorious views from a second story," Hannah explains. "However, we felt that reinforcing the local vernacular of single story timber cottages was important, and that an introspective garden diagram was preferable to outward looking in this context.

"A second level would have also worked against Hannah’s initial concept, she says. And with a single level, it meant she could focus on energy efficiency.



The electric-blue dining chairs are vintage school chairs sourced by Hannah. The rounded pendant light hanging over the dining table is by Muuto and the sculptural wall lighting is Le Corbusier’s Nemo.



The U-shaped floor plan wraps around a sunny central courtyard.



Hannah engaged landscape architect Christopher Owen to enhance the garden. His plan fosters native and endemic species that attract bird life, including kookaburras, tawny frogmouths, cockatoos, fairy wrens, and sea eagles.

Passive heating and cooling are achieved through the thermal mass of the concrete slab, and by siting the house to allow breezes to flow through its floor-to-ceiling sliders. Windows facing east, north, and west feature adjustable shading to reduce solar gain, while ceiling fans in the bedrooms provide a little extra airflow. All windows are double glazed, and the walls, although lightweight, are heavily insulated.

An extensive 5-kW photovoltaic array attached to the roof provides energy to the home, while a rainwater recycling system harvests water for the bathrooms, washing machine, and a garden irrigation system.

Hannah also made an effort to choose recycled materials and plantation timbers, and low- or no-VOC paints and finishes. The home’s water is heated with solar, and energy-efficient LED lighting runs throughout.



One of the adult bedrooms opens to the courtyard.



Awnings positioned over north-facing windows reduce solar gain, so there’s no need for air conditioning. Ceiling fans provide light airflow in the bedrooms.

In plan, the U-shaped home wraps around a sunny central courtyard that faces a rear garden to the north. Inside are two adult bedrooms, and a kids’ room with beds and built-in sofas can sleep up to six. Instead of a mudroom, a laundry-and-bathroom combo in the entry is "a deliberate sand trap" for beach towels, wetsuits, and shoes-an appropriate substitute given the home is sited just 350 feet from the beach.



The bathroom features a skylight and rose-colored terrazzo.



One of the kids’ rooms features built-in shelving.

All in, the family-friendly design can host 12 people, "including lots of kids and dogs," says Hannah. The home’s full-height doors create an indoor/outdoor connection between the garden, the living spaces, and the interior courtyard. It’s also designed to be sturdy enough to accommodate the family’s sporty leisure activities, and "to withstand the salt and sand," as Hannah puts it. "[We do] lots of swimming and paddle boarding and kayaking and walking in the bush."

By putting the home on a slab, Hannah has created a stepless design, allowing her to eventually age in place or accommodate guests with limited mobility. "This house is an attempt to achieve a high level of architectural and sustainable outcomes at a low cost," says Hannah. "It is an experiment in delivering a more thoughtful kit home."



An external wall frames a beautiful existing Queensland bottle tree.



An outdoor shower allows everyone to rinse off alfresco after a long day at the beach.



Bundeena House Floor Plan

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
×