
Australian Rural Homestead.
In this home, three pavilions define a courtyard with a formal garden. The eastern pavilion is the most private, containing twin master bedrooms. This connects to the north-facing living pavilion via a combined library/casual living space. The western pavilion, separated from the living pavilion via the alfresco space, contains a study and guest rooms and can be closed off when not in use. This arrangement allows for a variety of outdoor “rooms,” the courtyard, the veranda, deck spaces, alfresco and a terrace. The surrounding pasture comes right up to the outside of the house giving the occupants a commanding view of, and connection to, their property and livestock.
We chose a contemporary yet natural architectural palette of rammed earth, corrugated iron, reclaimed and local timber, and glass. Rammed earth has been used in Australian homesteads since colonial times, often outliving the rest of the house. It performs beautifully in passive solar design, providing thermal mass with a diurnal cycling of heat (meaning, the warmth from the day reaches the interior at night, and the cool of the night reaches the interior by daytime). Off-grid solar-powered hydronic slab heating takes passive solar a step further, storing the heat of the sun as hot water to circulate through the slab, providing reliable warmth throughout winter. The verandas provide shelter on the south, allowing for plenty of natural light to enter all the rooms. We were careful with placement of veranda elements not to darken rooms or restrict the views.
Building Features:
- Rammed earth walls and colorbond cladding
- Local and recycled timber elements
- Polished concrete floors with hydronic slab heating
- Solar-passive with double glazed timber windows
Note:
This project has been impacted by the 2019-2020 Bushfire Crisis and construction is currently on hold.

Open Plan Living
Planning


Solar Passive
South Courtyard

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Email: hello@archrepublic.com.au
Post: PO Box 1572 Bowral, NSW 2576 and PO Box 3062 Belconnen, ACT 2617
Architect Registration Number: 9651 (NSW) 2525 (ACT)