Architectural Awards

Toumbaal Plains
On the Far North Coast of
New South Wales, Australia

An Exclusive and Private Coastal Wilderness Estate

Winner of the 2003 Wilkinson Award for Residential Architecture

Toumbaal Plains House has received wide acclaim and is one of Australia's top coastal retreats. In 2003 Toumbaal Plains was awarded the prestigious Wilkinson Award for Residential Architecture and also a Special Commendation in the Australian National Architecture Awards.

Wilkinson Award Jury Citation - Winner

Toumbaal Plains House is not so much a home but rather an idea of a camping place with a temporary sense of occupying space and creating shelter in an extremely exposed environment.

Located on Toumbaal Plains, the sweeping grasslands south of Yamba on the far north coast of NSW, and continuing the family tradition of making camp on the edge of the property near the beach, the house is reminiscent of the old drovers hut that was used for shelter when the weather turned.

Almost without a tree in sight, the building grapples with the concept of house occupying an open paddock, capturing part of the outback as a protected field contained within the punctuated walls of the enclosure. The way it is inhabited and the degree of closure depend on the severity of the external environment and the mindset of the occupants.

With obvious reference to the many ruins of abandoned farmhouses that scatter our rural landscape, the free standing masonry fireplace that sits on the open grassed courtyard is reminiscent of the only tangible remains of what were otherwise lightweight structures. The containment of the fire outside and yet safe, contrasts with the fierceness of the grass fires that can sweep across this very landscape. Like a sacrificial skin, there is sense that when the masonry walls of the house are finally eroded over time the battering winds and the intense sun, the shelter will disappear again and the site will be given back to the land. In the tradition of touching the earth lightly, this is another interesting counterpoint to the sense of permanence and dominance of many contemporary houses over their sites.

This house is an experiment in romanticism in its evocation of memory and in its response to its setting. In its occupation of this open plain the shelter represents the taming of the wild, the wind and the fire.

National Awards Jury Citation - Commendation Residential

The inspiring Toumbaal Plains House on the New South Wales north coast, by Fergus Scott, was achieved on a very tight budget. Despite this, Scott was able to deliver to his clients a deceptively large building through his use of the outdoors as habitable space.

The clients have a long association with the site and traditionally camped on this land. Scott’s building retains that ethos of camping through his design of two separate buildings joined by common walls, which in turn form a courtyard. Two large sliding timber panels seal off the openings to the space and protect it from strong winds. Together with a fireplace in the courtyard, they generate a space that falls somewhere between the outdoors and an enclosed environment.

The courtyard allows the clients to experience the unique qualities of the land they inhabit, and to feel connected to it, while also having shelter from the elements. The building is a very successful articulation of the idea of an outdoor room and the notion that a simple pair of parallel walls can have its own microclimate.