Culbara

Natural materials including Abodo timber battens and panelling help to seat this home comfortably in a coastal landscape.

Project details

Design: MRA Design

Builder: Gray Construction Group

Product: Vulcan Screening (42x42) in Silicate Coating

Vulcan Panelling (135x10) in Protector - Clear

Timber distributor: Britton Timbers

Photography credit: Robyn Rolton Photographer

Completion date: 2021

Location: Sunshine Coast, Australia

A contemporary home that uses a bold combination of complementary materials including Abodo Vulcan battens and panelling, Culbara creates a statement in its riverside neighborhood.

With a base of breeze blocks in a charcoal grey and an upper level wrapped in concrete formwork and Abodo Vulcan bandsawn 4 face timber battens, Culbara is a cool, low-maintenance home that allows its residences to enjoy life to the fullest in the aptly named Sunshine Coast. Rather than adhering to a usual beach house aesthetic, the combination and scale of these materials gives the house a true sense of boldness.

Sited alongside the Mooloolah River, the house was created by MRA Design and Gray Construction Group with a design that accommodates the tropical climate of the area, which can see storms rolling in from the coast as well as harsh sun beating down year-round.

This prompted the use of Abodo’s silicate coating on the 42x42mm timber battens, a natural wood coating which allows the timber to gradually silver off over time and requires only minimal re-coating when compared to the annual maintenance required of cedar or other stained hardwoods.

There was also no issue using the silicate coating alongside finished concrete, as the coating does not leech.

“

With traditional hardwood battens for example, you’re going to have unsightly staining no matter what you do. With this product, there’s no leeching – so you’re comfortable to use the product directly above finished concrete surfaces.

- Hamish Gray, Director of Gray Construction Group

Culbara Vulcan Screening and Vulcan Panelling Abodo Wood

Culbara Vulcan Screening and Vulcan Panelling Abodo Wood 4

Culbara Vulcan Screening and Vulcan Panelling Abodo Wood 3

The layout responds to the climate, with living spaces flowing effortlessly outside to the landscaped pool area, which overlooks the river, and an interior layout that encourages open movement around the home. The walls themselves allow the house to breathe, with floor-to-ceiling louver panels down the wide hallway.

This is accentuated by concrete floors, which give a cool texture underfoot. In the lounge, these hard surfaces are softened by the use of Abodo Vulcan Panelling (135x10) in a warm Protector - Teak on the ceiling and along the stairway wall. This carries through into the bedroom with operable timber batten screens overlooking the waterfront view. These can be closed against the weather or opened to let in the breeze on warm days.

Culbara Vulcan Screening and Vulcan Panelling Abodo Wood 2

Aside from the contemporary combination of concrete greys and timber hues, colour is introduced in the bathroom and pool area by a mosaic of high-gloss blue tiles, which sparkle in the sunlight, and also by lush green landscaping that surrounds the home and enters some of the interior spaces via well-placed planter boxes.

The result is a home that breathes, with lofty, breezy interior spaces that encourage flow of movement and full enjoyment of the riverside location. From the street and from the river, the house has a soft, contemporary style that gives a calming impression.