Best of est | Victorian Beach Houses

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Best of est | Victorian Beach Houses

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architecture Australian beach house Australian beach houses beach house best of est Coastal Victoria Country Victoria Victoria

Ironbark House by Not All Architecture | Photography by Dan Preston

In this Best of est round-up, we explore four Victorian beach houses guided by a deep respect and sensitivity to their natural environments, designed for families to escape and embrace Australia’s vast coastal landscape.

Ironbark House by Not All Architecture

Cape Otway, Victoria

Set within a bush clearing in Victoria’s Otways, Ironbark House by Not All Architecture is a quiet, durable home for a family of five, offering repose within the “frenetic complexity” of modern life. The off-grid residence sits lightly on its 10-acre site, its stepped, diagonal plan responding to the land’s contours and shaping sheltered courtyards protected from seasonal winds.

Influenced by Danish architect Jørn Utzon’s additive principles, the home employs a simple modular system that allows variation within a unified whole, repeating a limited set of components—beams, columns, and roof sections—to create rhythm and cohesion. Drawing on Australia’s regionalist traditions, the restrained palette uses ‘as local as possible’ materials, including galvanised steel, dense Class 1 ironbark cladding, and mild steel joinery, chosen for longevity, bushfire resistance, and a strong connection to place. Working with landscape architect Simon Taylor, the team restored the site with indigenous flora, reinforcing the home’s relationship with its natural surroundings.

“We’re interested in architecture that speaks softly with its environment,” Not All Architecture co-founder and architect Phoebe Clarke says. “When you strip a building back to what’s necessary, what remains is clear, legible and calm. The landscape has an immense presence, so the architecture is intended to assimilate and strengthen this connection,” she adds.

Ironbark House by Not All Architecture | Photography by Dan Preston

Jackson by Eckersley Architects

Anglesea, Victoria

Nicknamed ‘Jackson’ after the name of the street, “Anglesea House is an ode to both family and environment, that focuses on the interplay between architecture and the natural world.” Designed to integrate effortlessly with its natural surroundings and adapt to the changing rhythms of family life, Jackson by Eckersley Architects is a new, purpose-built residence. Set into the rolling coastal terrain of Anglesea along the Great Ocean Road on Victoria’s Surf Coast, the vision behind the project was to create a flexible retreat that embraces both intimate family moments and panoramic views of the coastline.

The home’s entry level offers a social zone, including a large games room, a shared bathroom, and a spacious bunkroom designed to host the growing number of grandchildren. Ascending to the upper floor, a central courtyard anchors the layout, creating a protected outdoor space at the home’s core. “The new northern-facing courtyard offers ample lighting throughout the home, maximising solar gain in the winter, while the extended roof eaves provide protection through the summer months.” Toward the back, three guest bedrooms open onto a lush drought-tolerant garden designed by Eckersley Garden Architecture, offering quiet, personal nooks for rest and retreat.

Jackson by Eckersley Architects | Photography by Tasha Tylee

Mount Martha House by Victoria Merrett Architects

Mount Martha, Victoria

Set within the coastal landscape of the Mornington Peninsula, Mount Martha House balances simplicity and connection, openness and closure. From the outset, the light timber form of Mount Martha House appears almost absorbed by its coastal landscape. “The architecture celebrates proportion, alignments, and material honesty,” Melbourne architect Victoria Merrett says. “The modular grid enhances spatial order and efficiency, underpinning both the aesthetics and the practical execution of the build,” she adds.

Light and materiality enhance a sense of space and time. Large glazed windows outline the exterior of the home, drawing natural light into the heart of the living spaces and framing views of the garden by Simon Taylor Landscape Design with Centred Landscape. “The structure’s orientation and modular design maximise passive solar gain and cross-ventilation, ensuring a light filled, airy interior that flows between indoor and outdoor spaces,” Merrett says.

Bedrooms are arranged to maximise privacy while maintaining connection, with the main living areas oriented toward the green garden. The pin oak is central to the courtyard; its canopy observed through changing light. “Expansive glazing, the sheltered courtyard, and seamless transitions between living, deck, and pool all foster ongoing engagement with landscape and light,” Merrett says.

Mount Martha House by Victoria Merrett Architects | Photography by Tasha Tylee

Portsea Beach House by AM Architecture

Portsea, Victoria

Set on an undulating site in Victoria’s Portsea, Portsea Beach House by AM Architecture is designed for a family of five as a retreat from urban life, framed by the bay and native landscape. A gentle slope leads through Moonah and Tea Trees to a sunlit plateau—the site’s defining north lawn—where an in-situ concrete pavilion anchors the main living areas and master bedroom, opening to blend indoors and out and invite sea breezes.

A timber-clad L-shaped wing houses the bedrooms, separating parents’ and children’s spaces while allowing light and landscape to filter through the central pavilion. A neutral palette of soft timber, cream and earthy green hues echoes the surrounding coastal environment.

Terraces cascade from the lawn to a swimming pool and tennis court, connected by locally quarried granite paving and native grasses that soften the boundary between architecture and landscape. The concrete roof frames uninterrupted views, contrasting the material tactility inside.