Step inside the HIA-CSR Home of The Year
Words: Ella Whelan
Photography: Michael Anderson
“If you have a reputation for building a quality product, no matter what the market is doing, you will always secure a purchaser,” says Allen Sammut, the co-founder of Sammut Developments. As a sentiment that celebrates the recognition of quality, it is hardly surprising that it is one which has seen Sammut Developments win more than thirty major industry awards on both a state and national level in Australia.
Among these armfuls of accolades, is the HIA-CSR Australian Home of The Year granted to Sammut’s Nautilus on the foreshore of Burraneer Bay in Sydney’s southern suburbs.
Nautilus is the product of several years of “pure collaboration” between owner, architect and developer, and insofar as it is a single family-dwelling, the project nonetheless carries all the requisite features of a luxury resort – no doubt leading to its thrice-fold recognition from HIA-CSR as not only Home of The Year, but also People’s Choice and Best Australian Custom Home (2016). Encompassing seven bedrooms and garage space for twenty cars within its bounds, the award-winning home continues to delight visitors with luxurious entertainments. On the ‘play level’, one can choose between a movie theatre, spa, bar or more. Or, if something a little closer to nature beckons, occupants are invited to indulge in expansive gardens with coastal views, or a dip in the infinity lap pool that abuts one side of the house.
“Ultimately, we wanted to not only make the occupants happy on the day they took possession of their new home,” says Sammut, “but we wanted them to enjoy living there every day by offering them a complete lifestyle, not just an apartment.”
Throughout the property, elements of the area’s natural ecology are harnessed by the home’s interior scheme. Natural stone work, zinc roofs and recycled brick feature walls continue the architectural and environmental history of the site, with an internal green wall and ample use of natural light paying heed to crucial wellbeing factors for residents and guests alike. Coupled with generous glazed windows and sliding doors, not only is the sense of connection to nature enhanced, but internal airflow and cross breezes passively improve the structure’s ventilation and indoor air quality. In the spacious kitchen, the specification of Zip Water’s Classic HydroTap contributes to the cause for greater wellbeing, ensuring optimum hydration for all, and proving once again that winning homes specify Zip.