Stafford
Gerroa
A mid-build DA modification and a specialist import, on a cliff-top site.
Single dwelling
- Contract value
- $13,000,000
- Approval
- DA, modified during construction
- Status
- Completed 2025
- My role
- Design Team Manager, joined during construction
- Practice credit
- Designed and constructed by Futureflip
The situation
A three-storey coastal home built into a steep rock shelf above Seven Mile Beach. Construction had resumed after a neighbour dispute paused the earthworks. Futureflip had already set the design; I joined to resolve approval, procurement and coordination issues as the build went on.
The problem
The approved design reached the roof by a drop-down ladder. The client wanted the helical stair to continue up instead. A conventional enclosed stair overrun would have breached the height plane and reopened planning risk in the middle of the build.
What I did
I researched specialist access systems and found a fully glazed retractable Skybox made in the United Kingdom. I coordinated its specification, procurement and installation requirements. I developed the planning case for the height-plane variation and supported the DA modification with Council, showing that a transparent, retractable enclosure reads very differently from an opaque one. Through construction I handled design, documentation and logistics queries from site.
The outcome
Council approved the modification. The Skybox was procured, installed and commissioned, the first of its kind in NSW. Stafford won the 2025 HIA NSW Home of the Year and the 2026 HIA Australian Custom Built Home and People's Choice awards.
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