Dolans Bay wellness pavilion

Concept design for a heritage-listed house in Dolans Bay: a wellness pavilion cut into the slope at pool level and a new main-bedroom suite on the upper floor, developed through a long run of options ahead of a development application.

The site. A steep block that falls between five and ten metres from the street to the pool terrace, with the house — a heritage item — sitting between the two. The listing rules out anything that changes how the house reads from the street or the water, so the new floor area had to go where it cannot be seen.

The design. A studio level beneath the house at pool level: a 67 m² gym, a sauna and a steam room, pool plant and a store, reached from the terrace. Upstairs, a new main bedroom with ensuite and walk-in robe and a fourth bedroom complete the first floor, and a window becomes a door with a balustrade to match the existing. The driveway is regraded and the front fence rebuilt. Five bedrooms and three bathrooms across three levels.

The approval. Concept stage. A statement of heritage impact, landscape and stormwater packages are complete and the development application is being assembled for Sutherland Shire Council. On a heritage item the heritage statement is written alongside the design, not after it — every option was tested against it before it went to the owners.