Vanuatu House

An idyllic site: a balmy climate, frontage to an azure lagoon, 2-3 storey high coral out-crops and 3-4 storey high trees needed a simple architectural form which responded intimately with the site. The house and guest pavilion form a courtyard around these two trees.

Cyclone, earth quake zoning and limited local building skills lead to engineering solutions to express the structure using local materials. An integrated window system shades the glass, fly screens, and protects during cyclones but can also retract so that the pavilion is wholly open.

Site topography, trees and oversized eaves protect the house from the island sun. The entry descends over the coral rock face under the tree canopies.

A mango and Natora tree were such a special part of the virgin site that the house was designed around the two trees. The courtyard separates the guest pavilion from the house. The trees become a focus of the house, just as much as the lagoon.
An idyllic site: a balmy climate, frontage to an azure lagoon, 2-3 storey high coral out-crops and 3-4 storey high trees needed a simple architectural form which responded intimately with the site. The house and guest pavilion form a courtyard around these two trees.

Cyclone, earth quake zoning and limited local building skills lead to engineering solutions to express the structure using local materials. An integrated window system shades the glass, fly screens, and protects during cyclones but can also retract so that the pavilion is wholly open.

Site topography, trees and oversized eaves protect the house from the island sun. The entry descends over the coral rock face under the tree canopies.
Location: Port Vila, Vanuatu
Design Team: Michael MacCormick, Shahe Simonian
Project Architect: Michael MacCormick
Structural Consultant: Kramer Consulting Engineers
Interiors: Zobel Interiors