Modern house with large window, surrounded by dense green trees and rocks.
Southern Highlands, Mittagong House EA - A modern multi-story house with a flat roof and beige exterior nestled among dense trees on a hillside, overlooking rolling green mountains under a cloudy sky.
Close-up view of the corner of a modern building with brick and concrete walls against a clear blue sky.
An aerial view of a modern house surrounded by dense forest, with a small driveway and two parked cars.
A concrete walkway with a metal railing on each side, leading to an open view of trees and hills in the distance. A white lamp post is on the left side of the walkway, next to a brick wall. A large tree is on the right, casting shadows on the path.
Architectural plans of a two-story house with surrounding landscape details, including a driveway with two parked cars, trees, and topographical lines showing elevation.
View of green trees and plants outside a building with brick and concrete walls, under bright sunlight.
Southern Highlands, Mittagong House EA - Series of four images showing different views of a modern building, including an exterior view with trees, interior stairs, a corridor with wooden accents, and a room with a large window and a ladder.
Southern Highlands, Mittagong House EA - situated among dense green trees on a cliff with a cloudy sky overhead.

EA House

Southern Highlands, NSW, Australia - On Gundungurra Land

Finalising construction - Completion Mid to late 2025

EA house is a family home carefully crafted onto a sensitive rock cliff face escarpment in the southern highlands.

A simple elemental gesture that tests opposing emotional responses to its unique site. The diagrammatic result actually solves the very many overlapping constraints and challenges that exist because of its beautiful & dramatic yet difficult site.

EA house is an experimental house that balances the conceptual ideas of wanting to be a look out tower against blending into its natural environment. It touches its site purposefully but carefully so as to have no impact on any existing flora and fauna. Its bridge provides both equitable access and is the conduit of all services to & from the building resulting in less impact on the rock face.

Private spaces all have filtered view and light creating inward focused, intimate and reflective living feeling nurtured by hugging effect of a carved out mass. This is contrasted against the public spaces which are open with large curated views of the gorge beyond with a singular materiality that connects to this. Opposite from the more paired back spaces in the private and transitional spaces which are monastic, similar to la Tourette.

Planning is paired back. Public and private is opposite to the typical with the living at the lower level having a closer connection to its site. All spaces are connected by a loaded corridor expanding over two levels which slowly reveals the spatial play of the plan and slowly reveals the site to inhabitants like a story board.

The house manages many overlapping constraints like its bushfire flame zone rating, ecological constraints, energy requirements, geotechnical constraints and access caused by its incredible steep full rock building site.

Envelope selection prioritised blending into its environment at the same time as being fire & maintenance free while giving the space a sense of solidity and mass. The roof garden has this same approach, no gutters / maintenance reducing any preparation work incase of fire. It also provides amazing internal thermal stability which the whole house performs at a very high level.