Elevated beyond the valley’s cloud line, the site looks out to the Yarra Ranges and Mount Baw Baw, offering the kind of views that remind us to slow our breathing and reconnect with place.
The design responds directly to this dramatic setting. A sweeping curved wall of rammed earth follows the contours of the land, guiding you from arrival into the home while grounding the building in the hillside. In contrast, steel-framed box windows punctuate the walls, framing precise pockets of the landscape like paintings. Each aperture is carefully positioned, offering framed views across the valley.
Material choices are drawn from nature and crafted with intention. Rammed earth walls anchor the building to the hillside, their warmth and weight contrasted by lightweight steel, glass, and timber details. Hardwood timbers line the window boxes, stone collected on-site will be laid for the fireplace, and a concrete hearth is curing at the heart of the living space.
Outside, the timber deck connects the building to the surrounding bushland, with Japanese Yakisugi (charred cladding) wrapping the exterior that faces out across the expansive landscape. The dialogue between solidity and transparency, weight and lightness, defines the experience of moving through the home.
Beyond its visual appearance, Neerim Junction is designed as a self-sustaining dwelling. The project has achieved an 8.5-star NatHERS rating, operating fully off-grid through solar power, harvested rainwater, and on-site waste management. Every decision — from orientation to materiality — has been made with performance in mind, ensuring the home endures with the seasons and sits lightly on the land.
As construction progresses, the details continue to take shape: rammed earth, yakisugi, blackbutt hardwood, steel, glass, and stone combining to create a residence that feels both contemporary and timeless. This is architecture in conversation with its environment — a home that belongs as much to the landscape as to the people who will soon live within it.
View the project and follow along for more progress updates.
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