I don’t often work on residential projects, but every so often if I have the time and a special client I will! This project began with a masterplan to address the key project objective: revive an old horse paddock into a productive home garden and native landscape.

With clients committed to restoring native ecologies, this project was always first and foremost of the landscape. The conceptual framework for approaching built work on the site then developed around three core ideas:

Through a workshopping process that allowed the client to direct the design development, it was decided that two pavilions were required: one a flexible shed space and the other a home for two to grow old in. These were sited on the least attractive and valuable portions of land above floodwaters. The two pavilions were to work together to emulate the rolling hills and feel embedded in the landscape.

The first pavilion required was the flexible shed space. The clients required a volume that could be used alternately as accommodation, art gallery, art studio, storage, car park, sculpture workshop, for extended family gatherings and other unknown activities. The building does this by dividing into three portions that expand and contract as required. A deck extends the largest space into the landscape. The Camp Mountain Shed was built by Featherstone Constructions and completed in October 2016.

With most of their time spent in the garden, the clients needed their home to be a refuge from light, heat and glare. A hybrid typology of the courtyard and pavilion is employed to give privacy for different activities and accommodate guests. The project was completed by EMAC homes in December 2017.