This Australian home perched beneath Woodhill Mountain on the New South Wales South Coast, designed by Studio ZAWA begins with a simple premise: to live more closely with the garden. What was once a modest rural house has been carefully reworked for Brian Zulaikha and Janet Laurence into a place where architecture recedes and nature takes the lead.
The original house followed a familiar pattern, three small pavilions connected by verandahs, echoing early Euro-Australian rural homes. Rather than erase this logic, the architects chose to deepen it. The verandah, often treated as a threshold or leftover space, is brought to the centre of daily life. A new linking verandah now acts as the heart of the house, shaping how spaces connect, how air moves, and how the landscape is experienced.
This shift feels subtle but decisive. The verandah becomes a shaded living room, open yet defined, where a Blackbutt-lined ceiling draws breezes through the interiors. Underfoot, granite paving runs from the garden into the house without interruption, softening any boundary between inside and out. Movement becomes fluid, almost instinctive, as the house opens itself to its surroundings.
Much of the existing structure is kept and adapted, reducing waste and preserving the quiet character of the original home.
The architects focused on sustainability, which is embedded in the architecture itself. Deep eaves and carefully positioned openings manage sunlight across the seasons. Rainwater is collected, native planting supports the surrounding ecology, and a solar array allows the house to operate fully on electricity. Even the verandah roof has a role, balancing shade, winter sun, and long views towards the escarpment.
There is a clear lineage here with the Sydney School, in the way the house responds to site and climate with a light touch. Materials remain honest and expressive without excess. The architecture works to reveal the settings, not to hide them.
This House suggests a quiet model for living. It shows how working with what is already there, can lead to something enduring.
