Secret Garden House

This house design retains the established eucalypt on its site, and creates a secret landscaped pocket for its family of four to enjoy.

The Development Application for this site in regional NSW involves knocking down the original brick house, and building a new house better suited to its growing family’s needs. The clients requested a ‘parents’ retreat’ that could allow them to relax, whilst their two small children were safely ensconced within their corner site. They sought to retain the grown eucalypt on their site, whose dappled shade and sculptural form provided the inspiration for the ‘secret garden’ and resulting architectural form.

The new design retains the existing driveway in its location, and aligns the entry path to the house with the grown eucalypt, turning the focus of the house inwards towards the private garden The living areas of the house crank to face north, with awnings and patterned screening that provides dappled shading.  The ground floor opens directly out to the landscaped garden, enabling the family to live amongst the trees.  A plunge pool completes the exterior open space, and creates a buffer to the parents’ retreat.

The proportions of the house and its components are modular in scale, allowing for efficiencies in building and cost. The material palette juxtaposes high-performance glass and steel with sandstone and treated timber to create texture. Finally, the house gives back to its streetscape, and creates a generous landscaped buffer that wraps around the corner, and provides a leafy foreground to the house beyond.