Safe harbour

All waterfront projects are designed to maximise the view, but the designer of this development took the idea one step further. Architect Walter Barda of Walter Barda Design says he wanted the new Hamilton Island Yacht Club building to have a much closer interaction with the water to the extent that the water would be part of the development, not just something to be viewed out the window.

"The developers, Hamilton Island owner Bob Oatley and renowned yachtsman Iain Murray, recognised the importance of celebrating and enhancing the site," Barda says. "Right from the start, we envisaged a building that would straddle the breakwater and reference the marine elements and yachting heritage. It was also important to create a design that would have visual impact, not only from the sea, but also from the air, which is how many guests arrive at the island."

Barda says the project provided an ideal opportunity to both engage the landscape at the waterfront, and to create a memorable silhouette that would become part of the Whitsunday Islands skyline.

"Working with project architect Adrian Esdaile, a gradual refining of the design process led to a sculptural assemblage of forms that suggest wind-filled sails, spinnakers, keels and the swirling forces of the winds, tides and currents."

Barda says the central core of the yacht club is a covered porch, or piazza, that leads into the various private and public rooms. A series of super-scaled cutouts in the walls evoke the silhouettes of passing yachts and sails. With a gradual change of ceiling levels and a processional ramp, the building leads to a dramatic raised platform cantilevered over the water."

Facilities on site include restaurants, bars, an auditorium, conference facilities, gymnasium, lap pool, reading room and exhibition space. The integrated development also provides 35 detached villas.

"The villas needed to be relatively invisible from a distance," says Barda. "Arranging the villas in a two-tiered serpentine tail allowed views to be shared the yacht club is a major punctuation in the landscape."

Barda says key challenges included working with difficult access, 5m tides and geologically unstable ground conditions.

For more information, contact Walter Barda Design, Suite 2.04, 13-15 Wentworth Ave, Sydney, NSW 2000, phone (02) 9360 2340, fax (02) 9360 2324. Website: www.walterbardadesign.com.

Story by: Trendsideas