The brief was to design a robust and functional family home featuring dedicated spaces for the children to study, shared spaces for enjoying meals together, and spaces to accommodate extended family. Above all, the landscape needed ample opportunities to enter and envelop the building, creating a symbiotic relationship between the two realms.

Conceptually, the house was designed to be “part cave, part treehouse”, evoking protection and freedom. Areas intended for privacy and refuge, such as the bedrooms and bathrooms, exude intimacy and a cocooning atmosphere. “There is a sense of the building wrapping around and embracing the occupant in these spaces,” Downie North co-director Catherine Downie says. Conversely, spaces designed for connection and entertaining, like the kitchen, dining and living areas, are more expansive and open to the outside. Catherine notes, “The building almost dissolves into the landscape in these areas,” creating a seamless integration with the surroundings.

The design emphasises fostering a strong connection to the landscape, drawing on Castlecrag’s distinctive sprawling native gardens. “The area was initially envisioned as a ‘bushland utopia,’ with subdivisions and roads carefully following the natural contours of the land,” co-director Daniel North says. “This layout creates walkways that meander through tall eucalypts and rocky scarps, connecting a series of reserves designed to encourage moments of pause and appreciation for the landscape. This preoccupation with the landscape not only influenced the spirit and programming of the house but also dictated the material choices,” he elaborates.

Collaborating with Emily Simpson Landscape Architecture on the garden, the architects took a meticulous approach to the plant selection, choosing species that were indigenous and ideally suited to the local environment. This careful curation aimed to not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of the site, but also contribute to the restoration of local biodiversity and support wildlife in the area.

Downie North took cues from the landscape to shape both the exterior and interior material palettes. “You’ll notice the oranges and greys of the angophora’s bark, the deep greens of the harbour waters, and the reds and golds of the sandstone cliffs,” Daniel says. The architecture predominantly features burnished concrete flooring, crazy sandstone paving, off-form concrete walls and timber batten screens. Complementing these elements, the carefully chosen furniture selections inject life and bursts of colour into the interiors.