One of Australia's most iconic coastal properties, the Pole
House on the Great Ocean Road, is about to get a serious makeover,
with a completely new building to be constructed atop the famous
concrete pole.
The remarkable building, which must be one of the most
recognisable buildings in Victoria, will keep its pole foundations,
walkway, and also the concrete platform on which the current house
rests.
But in place of the 1978-era home, owners Kathi and Raymond
Adams are building a state-of-the-art contemporary building that
will open on two sides to the incredible coastal views, which
extend from the Split Point Lighthouse at Aireys Inlet to well
beyond Lorne.
The Pole House is used by the family as a holiday home and is
also rented out to holidaymakers through Great Ocean Road Holidays.
While it will be closed for six months during construction, the
couple hope to have the new Pole House open for business by
summer.
Melbourne's F2 Architecture have re-designed the one-bedroom
house featuring retractable floor-to-ceiling glass doors on the
south-west and south-east sides of the building, a larger lounge
room and central "pod" bathroom. A stunning 1960s-style Ergofocus
floating fireplace in the lounge will appear to hover over the
ocean.
Co-owner Kathi Adams says the couple are highly aware of the
iconic status of the Pole House and took this into consideration
when planning the refurbishment.
"We certainly don't want to destroy an icon because that's
precisely why we bought it - for its iconic character," Mrs Adams
said.
"Once it's rebuilt it will look virtually the same from the
outside as it does now. The redesign will just bring the house into
the 21st century and will make it a world-class property befitting
its world-class location."
The current house is a time capsule of 1970s interiors, with
thick Berber carpet on the walls, pine-lined ceilings and pendant
lights made from green wine bottles. But Kathi said it was also
very tired and the amenities of the building no longer matched the
wow-factor of the location.
"For example, you can't open the windows at present because when
the house was built engineering wasn't what it was today and it
would have been impossible to keep out draughts," Kathi said.
As part of the project, the Adams are also constructing a
contemporary two-storey, three-bedroom wing on the "mainland" cliff
nearby, which will also provide spectacular coastal views and be
linked to the Pole House by a bridge.
The Adams bought the Pole House in 2006 from original owner
Frank Dixon, an engineer who envisaged, designed and built it
between 1975 and 1978. They opened the house to holiday rentals in
2007 and it is now occupied virtually every weekend of the
year.
http://www.greatoceanroadholidays.com.au/