Pole House, by Melbourne based F2 Architecture, literally leaves the land behind–vertically and horizontally–to gaze out and over Southern Ocean vistas from the modest accommodations of a well designed getaway perched above Australia’s famous Great Ocean Road.

Lying upon a 42 foot high pylon buried into the land is a concrete platform on which Pole House is built, impressively defying gravity and setting the tone for the appeal of its comfort. The stark black walls visible while approaching the diamond shaped house from the rear entrance lend an imposing impression that becomes intertwined with its small size: a black cell floating above, and cut off from, a paradise.

This impression is shattered when entrance is gained. Pole house trades the grandeur of a mansion for that of a luxury suite, incorporating the expansive interiors of the former while maintaining the inviting comfort of the latter. The bathroom is centrally located in a timber clad drum that divides the bedroom and living accommodations, the interior being of average size, small and inviting, not large and imposing–such a marked contrast to the scale of the views that it’s floor to ceiling panoramic glass windows look out over.

Color and contour are two categories in which the timber drum differs from its surroundings, the rest of the interior being composed of sleek gray euclidean surfaces that match with the darker roof and walls and concrete bridge outside. As the bathroom rises from the floor and stops before meeting the ceiling, so too the fireplace descends out of the ceiling and halts a few feet above the floor. To its right, a modest entertainment center allows for the comforts of modern society without distracting from the scenery, and a sofa completes the welcomingly sparse living room without any unnecessary crowding.

The glass table top in the dining room coincides perfectly with F2’s economy of space, perhaps for the reason that it aligns with the tendency in Pole House to not occupy guests’ attention too particularly with any single design feature: the table is functional, see-through, and allows for table mats whose colors correspond to the tones dominating the entire design.

The initial impression of isolation, originally set off by the smallish size and the intimidating exterior, becomes Pole House’s chief selling point: a modestly accommodated escape from Earth, gazing out upon the untamed vastness of the seas, freed from the confines of land, gravity, society.

Photography by F2 Architecture