A modern bastion for a young family to revel in their outdoor lifestyle, all hidden away from suburbia in plain sight.

The site itself created a number of challenges in both its topography, with a slope of 4 meters and existing mature trees scattered across the block.

A simple split level was created to separate the entry, home office and parents from the rest of the home, providing sanctuary from the rest of the house. Stepping up to the living areas from the entry the warmth, and light (and the children) can cascade in from the huge garden spaces positioned to the north.

A material bold pallet of dark materials was offset by raw and natural finishes, the warmth of the timber contrasting the polished concrete floors flowing from front to back. In a street where the norm has become project builder white characterless boxes, poorly orientated and covering the whole block, having all but destroyed the beauty of the long established tree canopy.

The Castle serves as an example of how less can really equal more - how a family home, carefully designed, can give back to the streetscape and respect the environment in which it now calls home.