Inside the incredible concrete home in a rainforest built to withstand a category five cyclone – complete with a swimming pool, modern decor and SIX bedrooms
- Tropical retreat The Stamp House is located in the wild Queensland rainforest perched in the middle of a lake
- Home was put up for sale in 2015 for $15million and is entirely energy-sufficient and built to resist flooding
- It has a cantilevered design which consists of oscillating wings extending from the centre of the property
- The residence has a swimming pool shaped like a stamp – having been commissioned by a stamp collector
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A futuristic home capable of withstanding a category five cyclone is built in the middle of a lake at the heart of a wild rainforest.
The concrete retreat in Cape Tribulation in Queensland’s far north, which was put up for sale in 2015 for $15million, is also entirely energy-sufficient and flood-resistant.
Rainwater is collected in the roof, while the property relies completely on solar power for energy and its raised wings to reduce the impact of high water levels.
A futuristic home capable of withstanding a category five cyclone is built in the middle of a lake at the heart of a wild rainforest
The concrete retreat in Cape Tribulation in Queensland’s far north, which was put up for sale in 2015 for $15million, is also entirely energy-sufficient and flood-resistant
The property was awarded the Robin Dods Award for Residential Architecture – House (New) at the Australian Institute of Architects’ Queensland Architecture Awards in 2014
The 79-acre property called The Stamp House is set only half a kilometre back from the cape’s beachfront and was built in 2013 at a cost of about $9million.
Its design encompasses a six-bedroom house with a helipad, a swimming pool and an open-air cinema.
The out-of-this-world design came about after its previous owner Rod Perry, a stamp collector, approached Port Douglas-based Charles Wright Architects to design him a home.
The swimming pool in the centre of the cantilevered construction is shaped to represent ‘One Pound Jimmy’ – the first Aboriginal man to feature on a postage stamp
Rainwater is collected in the roof, while the property relies completely on solar power for energy
The out-of-this-world design came about after its previous owner Rod Perry, a stamp collector, approached Port Douglas-based Charles Wright Architects to design him a home
‘Our brief was unchallenging: there must be water in abundance, the house should not blow away in the first cyclone – beyond that surprise us,’ he told the Cairns Post.
‘Our expectations were not let down.’
The swimming pool in the centre of the cantilevered construction is shaped to represent ‘One Pound Jimmy’.
‘Our brief was unchallenging: there must be water in abundance, the house should not blow away in the first cyclone – beyond that surprise us,’ he said
The 79-acre property called The Stamp House is set only half a kilometer back from the cape’s beachfront – where there is a 600m private beach – and was built in 2013 at a cost of about $9million
Its design encompasses a six-bedroom house with a helipad, a swimming pool and an open-air cinema
‘Jimmy’ was the first Aboriginal man to feature on a postage stamp in the 1950s.
‘It’s Rod’s favourite Australian stamp,’ architect Charles Wright said.
‘It’s not particularly valuable it’s just one of his favourites, so the figure head in the in the stamp was used to create the central focus feature of the house.’
The home’s innovative raised wings allow it to resist flooding if the water level in the lake rises during storm events like cyclones
The stamp-theme continues onto the exterior of the building, where perforations based stamp sheets cover the concrete steel-reinforced cyclone proof walls.
‘It’s almost as if the house has been gift wrapped,’ Mr Wright said.
The property was awarded the Robin Dods Award for Residential Architecture – House (New) at the Australian Institute of Architects’ Queensland Architecture Awards in 2014.