Perched atop the cliffs of Sydney’s Tamarama sits Senses 8, a renovated luxury home that serves as a private holiday rental for clients who want an elevated Australian escape. Overlooking the iconic sandy shores and endless blue horizon of Tamarama beach, the home incorporates everything guests could want or need within one, seamlessly designed property.
Local studio PopovBass were the architects behind the project, taking the existing site and reimagining it into a thoughtful home-away-from-home for guests who value privacy, indulgence, and wellness. We sat down with Benedetta Gozzi, Associate at PopovBass, to talk through the concept and delivery of the design, and how the firm worked with international wellness leader Technogym to execute their vision.
Timeless, high end luxury
PopovBass were tasked with transforming an existing, early 2000’s home into an elegant retreat, allowing guests to experience Sydney’s inimitable lifestyle without the need to even leave the home. The existing footprint was edited and reworked to create a five bedroom, five bathroom retreat that houses up to eight.
“We wanted to take in consideration a couple of important aspects in the design, privacy, connection and views,” says Gozzi. “Along with the client, we thought it was very important to take the design to a next level… The house at Census 8 is elegant; is timeless; is high-end luxury…”
Drawing inspiration from luxury stays around the globe, the top floor of the home was remodeled for a spa-like experience, with a free-standing bath and marble double shower creating new space to indulge. Oversized windows and large balconies open the home up into its surroundings, while a sleek material palette of woodgrains and tactile stones play off the hues and textures of the verdant Sydney coastline.
World class wellness
Envisioning a clientele of VIP guests, privacy and amenity were top of mind for both client and architect to ensure everything could be done from inside the home’s perimeter. A heated pool and spa and a movie room are able to keep guests entertained, while a bespoke wellness centre allows for fitness routines to be maintained throughout the entirety of the stay.
Located at the back of the property, guests can cross the garden and the pool and enter into a luxury gym. Completely fit out in Technogym fitness machines and accessories, the space is a world-class fitness centre that is private and personal. The uniform specification of Technogym means a cohesive and consistent design is achieved, while also ensuring exceptional quality across the machines as standard. A close collaboration with Technogym meant every machine and accessory was specifically chosen, ensuring guests can train alone, in a group, or with their trainer.
“The Technogym home studio is not an afterthought. It’s fully integrated within the design of the house. It feels like it fully belongs to the original design,” says Gozzi. “As part of the design process, we actually went through the… showroom with the client and we got to try all the different machines and we had a Technogym expert explaining how every machine worked. So it was a collaboration during the whole process to get the best result from a planning point of view, from a high end design point of view, and from an experience point of view.”
Working with their client, PopovBass has created a luxury home-away-from-home that takes all the best things about hotels and merges it with the privacy and convenience of a private rental. Overlooking the cerulean waters of Tamara Beach, this is the epitome of Australian beachside living, with a private Technogym retreat the cherry on top for this indulgent private escape.
Technogym
www.technogym.com