Banool House, Fairhaven, Victoria Real Estate Building, Australian Modern Architecture Photos

Banool House in Fairhaven, Victoria

8 September 2025

Architecture: Lachlan Shepherd Architects

Location: Fairhaven, Victoria, Australia

Photos: Nic Stephens Photography

Banool House, Fairhaven, Victoria, AU

Banool house involved utilising the existing footprint of a dilapidated, 2 bedroom home in Fairhaven on Victoria’s Surf Coast. The brief for the project was to recreate the home to maximise ocean views, whilst maintaining an understated, calming aesthetic, befitting its clifftop location. The house was to weather and age into the hillside, allowing the surrounding landscape to blend with the architecture over time.

The home functions as a weekender and thus, a low-maintenance, robust internal palette was applied, providing a sense of warmth and calm against an ever-changing ocean backdrop.

The internal arrangements provide 2 full time bedrooms (each with ensuites) and a third, adaptable space for the owners’ grown children when they come to stay.

A north-facing, covered, courtyard deck area can be accessed directly at the entry area and has a pass-through window bench to the kitchen.

The ocean-side yard is accessed directly from the dining and living zones via two retractable, oversized sliding glass doors. Meaning that when weather permits, a whole corner of the area can be opened up to the breeze and the internal spaces are fully connected to the outdoor zone.

Banool house is understated, comfortable and reliable – a refined, modernist “beach shack”.

What was the initial vision for Banool House, and how did it evolve throughout the project?
To re-envisage the existing, dilapidated 2 bedroom home into a new beach house. The home brief was to sit harmoniously within its clifftop context and maximise the expansive ocean views on offer.