A glass pavilion wrapped in timber sliding screens.

A family house in the Noosa hinterland that connects to the ground and opens to the bush, ocean, stars and sky.

The house is designed as an operable glass pavilion that is wrapped in sliding hardwood screens, so the owners can control the light, breezes, privacy and views. In winter, they can slide open the screens to let the winter sun in. In summer, they can close the screens to provide shade, while still maintaining views and breezes through the timber battens.

With steep hinterland sites, it is easy for the house to end up high above the natural ground and lose its connection to the earth. With young children, the owners were eager to be able to step from the house directly into the garden. So, working with the existing levels we could configure the floor plan so that the kitchen, living, dining and children’s bedrooms opened directly onto garden spaces to make it easy for the kids to go outside.

The long thin plan ensures the building is only one room deep to maximise, ocean views, cross ventilation and natural light. The house layout allows the family to come together to cook, eat and relax, but also the separation of more quiet spaces for reflective time. The attenuated plan provides a horizontal separation of the public and private areas of the house.  The kitchen, living and dining open onto the northeast garden and pool.  The bedrooms are pushed to the more private southern end of the site, separated by bathrooms and robes.

The house is designed to collect its own solar power and rainwater for use in the house. Then the wastewater from bathrooms, kitchen and laundry is recycled on-site then used for irrigation and bush regeneration. There is a small orchard and terraced vegetable garden, completing it as a contemporary sustainable house.

Photography: Jared Fowler.