Cake House, Mollymook Beach, New South Wales Accommodation, NSW, Australia architecture photos

Cake House in Mollymook Beach, NSW

6 March 2025

Design: AH Joinery

Location: Mollymook Beach, New South Wales, Australia

Photos © Barton Taylor

Cake House, Australia

The original structure on site was affectionately known as ‘Cake House’ by the local community. Its sharp, kite like shape provided the coastal town of Mollymook with an icon and a way-finding point for surfers. Respecting and upgrading this iconic shape became the overarching concept for the project. Additionally, a high performance envelope, durability and protection from storm surges were also emphasised.

Cake House has been upgraded to incorporate Passive House Enerphit principles including, high insulation, no thermal bridges, low air infiltration, high performance glazing and a heat recovery ventilation system. However, ultimately, it has been designed to operate as a passive mixed mode beach shack, destined to be robust against its extreme context and an intensifying climate. It operates as 100% electric and Net Zero energy use (-7,000kWh/yr back to the grid) with an onsite PV system.

The programming of the house has remained similar, with ocean facing kitchen and living upstairs and bedrooms below. A landscape berm has been built around the lower level to protect the rooms from increasing storm surges, acting as a hind sand dune. The diamond entry and lobby anchoring the two levels has been retained and upgraded. The reinstated ‘kite’ roof has been sharpened and lightly sails over the internal spaces. The light roof form is grounded by the recycled hardwood and carbon neutral concrete formed from the original aluminum cladding.

What are the key concept ideas behind Cake House?
The underlying principles for the design of the Cake House was to prioritise resource efficiency, by re-using and celebrating materials in order to re-life a local cultural icon for the next generation. The original beach shack is reminiscent of the vernacular and scale of this coastal town. We have sought to be respectful to the existing building by minimising the scale of the rear addition, ensuring it is not visible from the street and maintains the existing view corridors. We worked hard to optimise the layout to make flexible spaces, that could accommodate many people in such a way so as not to feel over crowded. We elevated the living space to celebrate the sea views with an outdoor room merging down to landscape via generous amphitheater seating. The bedrooms on the lower Ground Floor act as a bunker for insulated thermal mass with a robust structure to resist impacts of climate change.

What are the sustainability features?
The merging of Passive House and Passive Design allowed us to create a home that can operate in a mixed mode scenario. The low air infiltration rate of 2ACH working with the heat recovery ventilation system means air infiltration and pollutants are minimised during extreme weather events. The Life Cycle assessment showed that as well as being Net Zero in operation use, the project is Carbon negative across its predicted lifespan. After 55 years (lifespan assumed by the LCA standard EN 15978), the project is predicted to have a negative carbon footprint of -33,494kgCO2-e. Every year beyond this will continue to provide an excess of 7,000kWh back into the grid.
The materials selected are on the basis of their environmental impact. Examples include:
– re-use of a portion of the existing concrete, timber and masonry insitu
– re-use of aluminium cladding for formwork
– re-use of existing timbers for linings and screens
– recycled timber from AAH (cladding, screens, internal linings to walls and ceilings, flooring, joinery)
– recycled window frames from AHJ
– carbon neutral concrete from Holcim Eco Pact Zero
– carbon neutral tapware from Sussex

Cake House in Mollymook Beach, New South Wales – Building Information

Architects: AH Joinery – https://www.ahjoinery.com.au/ – Geoff Metzler & Associates Pty Ltd, Skylar Construction
Photographer: Barton Taylor

AH Joinery Doors & Windows
Geoff Metzler & Associates Pty Ltd Engineer
Skylar Construction Builder

Project size 215 m2
Site size 675 m2
Completion date 2025
Building levels 2

Products and materials
Recycled Hardwood AAH Timber
Tapware Sussex Natural brass
FC Sheeting James Hardie CFC
Concrete Holcim EcoPact
Aluminum Roofing lysaght Permalite

Photographer © Barton Taylor

Cake House, Mollymook Beach, NSW, Australia images / information received 060325

Location:Mollymook Beach, NSW, Australia

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