Drivers along the Great Ocean Road have been slamming on their brakes for this one for decades. Kids in back seats compete to spot it first, and for a stretch of coastline that already has plenty to look at, one small glass box balanced on a single concrete leg somehow steals the show.
That's The Pole House, and if you can get past the vertigo of stepping onto its floating walkway, you get to sleep suspended 40 meters (131 feet) above the waves. It moves in the wind. It has taps that change color depending on the water temperature. And it has, more than once, made grown adults repeat the word "wow" until they ran out of better ones.
Location
The Pole House sits at Fairhaven, just along the coast from Aireys Inlet in Victoria, directly across from a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) surf beach. This is not a stretch of road built for nightlife - after dark, the sounds here are barbecues and conversation rather than bars.
From the balcony you can pick out the Split Point Lighthouse, and beyond it the Great Ocean Road threads through the hills of the Otways toward Lorne. Yellow-tailed black cockatoos pass at eye level, along with the occasional paraglider.
A short walk from Fairhaven, Aireys Inlet has fish and chip shops, wood-fired pizza, and a community-owned pub and brewery, and a handful of walking trails start nearby at the Moggs Creek Picnic Area.
A House Built From A Surfing Injury
The idea for the house came from a surfing accident. In 1963, architectural engineer Frank Dixon spent six weeks recovering from an injury, and used the time to dream up a home that would make the most of the coastal views. By 1965 he and his wife Aileen had bought the land. Dixon, who drew inspiration from the Chemosphere in Los Angeles, began building in 1972 and finished in 1978, setting the original timber house atop a 15-meter pole.
The Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983 damaged the rear of the building, which was rebuilt the following year. But wood exposed to salt air and coastal weather for decades does not last forever, and by the time the house was sold to new owners, Kathi and Ray Adams, in 2005, it was showing its age. It opened to the public as a holiday rental the following year.
In 2012, the owners announced plans to demolish the aging timber structure and replace it with something better suited to the views. Dixon tried to stop it, applying to Victoria's Heritage Council to have the house protected - the application was rejected, and the original Pole House came down in January 2013. Architect Franco Fiorentini of F2 Architecture designed its replacement in glass and steel, unveiled in February 2014.
Balanced On One Concrete Pole
The current structure rests on a 70-centimeter-thick (27.6-inch) slab that sits atop the pole, connected to the mainland by a 23-meter (75-foot) floating walkway. Rather than fighting the wind, the house is designed to move with it, swaying up to 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) in either direction.
Floor-to-ceiling glass wraps the main room, opening up 200 degrees of ocean and sky, while a wraparound balcony lets you stand right at the edge of it all. The design is also wheelchair accessible.
The Interior
Inside, a single curved room wraps around a central bathroom pod clad in burnt ash panels. There is a foldaway queen bed, a leather lounge suite that reclines at the push of a button, a glass dining setting, and a small kitchenette - the cooking facilities here are basic, limited to a microwave, toaster, kettle, and coffee machine, so this isn't a house built for elaborate meals.
The details are where it gets a little theatrical. The taps glow from within, shifting from blue to purple to red as the water heats up. Motion near the light switches makes them glow and display what's on. Two full walls of blinds rise at the press of a button, and in front of the main window a fireplace hangs from its own chimney, burning in open air with the sea as a backdrop. The bathroom is finished in dark stone.
Outside, a small deck lets you sit with a drink and watch the light change over the water - and depending on the hour, that can mean a blaze of color to the west or deep purple falling to night in the east.
The house sleeps two only, doesn't allow children, and enforces a strict no-party policy - so whatever you're picturing for a stay here, it isn't a crowd.
60 Banool Rd, Fairhaven VIC 3231, Australia
