cooinda

MAGNETIC ISLAND

AIA AWARDS

  • North Queensland House of the Year

  • North Queensland Regional Project of the Year

  • Queensland State Commendation

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The Client has named this house “Cooinda” - an indigenous word meaning “a happy place”. It is an apt name for this contemporary beach house for a large and enthusiastic extended family on beautiful Magnetic Island off the coast of Townsville, North Queensland.  

The large accommodation brief of the home has been distilled into a simple architectural form and materiality that sites well in the context of a Magnetic Island street. The key design move was to create a central, double height “outdoor room” around which all of the functions of the house are arranged. This space creates connections between all spaces, and also becomes a key social gathering space.

The greatest success of the scheme is the way in which it works just as well for a couple as it does for large family gatherings.

Photography by Matthew Gianoulis