Tasmania’s stunning Bruny Island is getting a new luxury offering from a Danish design brand.
Whether you’re going for a day trip, or planning to stay a little longer, there are plenty of reasons to visit Bruny Island. Now, the sustainably designed Vipp Tunnel guesthouse offers one more.
Danish design brand, Vipp, has worked with Hobart-based studio, Room1, to bring its particular style to the southern hemisphere for the first time.
Three years in the making, the cantilevered Vipp Tunnel makes a striking vision over a sloping hill. Room 11 set out to build a sculptural, brutalist structure dropped into the bushlands, designed to feel like it’s balancing on the edge between solid ground and open air.
“On Bruny Island, we have created understandable forms that do not mimic context, rather they create an intelligible form from which we can comprehend the nature of place," explained Thomas Bailey, Architect AIA, Director Room11.
The guesthouse
The result is a 160-square-metre tunnel stretching 30 metres, with wall-to-wall glass and recessed steel doors to allow unobstructed views out to the Tasmanian sea and mountains. Inside, the master bed and bath are separated by an atrium yard, to further create the sense of being on the edge of the world. Central skylights have had chromatic glazing added to mimic the colours of the Aurora Australis across the guesthouse interior.
A separate 35-square-metre concrete cube, dubbed The Studio, contains a desk and hidden mezzanine double bed. While outside, a series of sculptures by renowned Danish artist Lin Utzon complete the artistic stay.
Vipp supplied the guesthouse with its interiors and furnishings. Including an all-aluminium V3 kitchen, swivel chairs upholstered in Australian sheep skin and a bespoke sunken lounge.
“Our portfolio of guesthouses is about elevating the product experience and creating a doorway into our design universe. By working with different architectural typologies and vernacular we can craft distinct design experiences," said Kasper Egelund, CEO and third-generation Vipp owner.
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Sustainability
Another fascinating aspect of Vipp Tunnel is how entirely off-grid it is.
“The entire western façade is derived from the geometry of the solar array. An unequivocal statement of prioritising green energy production in contemporary construction. As far as we are aware, this is the first building to feature an entire façade created by solar technology, making the most of the location’s latitude," said Bailey.
Before building, every tree on site was surveyed to avoid damage. The concrete panel design provides thermal insulation to keep the inside temperature regulated, year-round. The property runs only on run-off rainwater and self-sufficient energy.
The details
Get to Bruny Island with a 20-minute ferry ride from Hobart, then drive 10 minutes to Vipp Tunnel. Prices start from $970 per night, based on two adult guests.
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