When the Cape View was designed in 1998 it was viewed as a very radical building. In fact it took about 12 months before we sold the first one. It was on display in Margaret River for four years and in that time became the Rural Building Company’s most celebrated home. You can now find the famous prow scattered around the South-West and in quite a lot of other rural regions. The design was built as a winery on the corner of Harman’s Mill Road and Bussell Highway in Willyabrup in the South-West. I am sure Harman’s Ridge Estate Winery won’t mind you slipping in to have a look especially if you brought a couple of bottles of their wine.
The home was voted the Best Display Home in Western Australia in 2002. It was the Golden Key Winner in the South-West in the same year.
The free form living area is just amazing. It provides a magnificent view to the sky through the front of the prow and captures the total panorama through the glass walls either side. The kitchen was placed in one side of this free form living area which enabled the chef to also enjoy the view through the very wide window. We also allowed easy access off the carport into the front of the kitchen, so good when you are loaded full of groceries. There is a fireplace at the rear of the free form living space with the chimney reaching full height to the featured steel parallel chord truss that holds this expansive roof up. The house was designed into two zones, one being the master suite and office and quite private from the other bedroom wing. A studio room also was designed for light and to capture the views as well.
We used a mixture of render, corrugated metal and boarding blended to give a very unique progressive architectural feel. The home was dressed in warm colours to suit its original Margaret River surrounds but looks equally brilliant in more coastal blues and greys. It has been designed so in an exposed location it looks striking from all angles.
It has also catered to the baby-boomer two person household where the bedrooms have been used as guest rooms or for the older child. A large family version was created by inserting The Cape View into The Durack creating The Harvest View. The Cape View has an ambience and character that is quite extraordinary.