Tony Hobba Architects
Tony Hobba Architects Surfcoast Geelong Melbourne Torquay Bells Beach Architects Architecture
About
Profile
Our practice is located on the Surf Coast of Victoria – just off the Great Ocean Road. The Great Otway National Park and local surf beaches are our playground and our inspiration.
For us a good building is a building that is alive. It expresses itself in patterns, materials, light and shadow, shape and form. It is cohesive and whole, comfortable and welcoming, ordinary and extraordinary. It supports our way of life, but is open to grow and change. It is predictable but full of surprise. It is healthy and sustainable. It allows its inhabitants to be themselves and to be self creating.
So where do we begin?
We start with an idea – an inspiration – a point of reference – a quality.
Ideas come from our clients and their lives; from the landscape, the weather; from theatre, poetry and art; from current happenings, from imagination.
Creating a living building from an idea is for us an ongoing conversation: a collaboration between client, architect, landscape, weather, materials, shapes and forms, light and shadow, regulatory authorities and other professionals.
Each of these collaborations produces a project that is unique.
A project where “the single central quality which makes the difference cannot be named.” (Christopher Alexander*)
*Alexander C. (1979) The Timeless Way of Building. Oxford University Press. NYP25.
Coastal landscapes
Living and working in this unique landscape makes us aware of and sensitive to our natural environment – its power and its vulnerability. Our commitment to coastal habitation drives us to find a unique ‘language’ for our buildings, a language that respects and reflects our unique coastal environment.
Regional landscapes
Our practice actively champions architecture and urban planning in the region and is closely involved with State and local government planning bodies. Tony Hobba has had a long-term involvement with the Surf Coast Planning Committee, is the author of the Surf Coast Design Guide. The practice is an advocate for good regional design including hosting and curating exhibitions of the work of local architects.