Clad in recycled, rough-sawn Australian messmate, Red Hill Residence meets its bush site with weight and restraint in equal measure. The design works with a 1970s dwelling that was already there, with the new addition set around the site’s established gumtrees. As such, the perimeter steps open to the landscape while a solid service core grounds the plan. The timber materiality repeats across ceiling and awning details, joinery and wall panelling, sharing the same design language across the project.

In-situ concrete provides the counterweight – a smooth trowelled island bench, a fireplace hearth – refined against the coarse grain of the timber, with black metal detailing framing views to the silvered bush. Passive design shapes how the house performs: operable windows invite cooling cross-breezes, exposed aggregate floors work as thermal mass, and a slender cantilevered roofline draws light deep inside. It’s a retreat tuned to its setting, where the bush is present in every room.