Solara is the home we designed and built with Martin Builders for one of our co-founders and his family, beside a sandy surf track in Cape Paterson on Bunurong Country. Built from cream recycled bricks, blackbutt, stone, copper and burnished concrete, and achieving a 9.6-star NatHERS rating, it has become one of our most widely recognised projects. Here are some of the places you can read more about the project.
The Design Files, September 2026
Writer Christina Karras explores how passive house principles, Feng Shui and the surrounding dunes shaped the house, with photography by Marnie Hawson and styling by Hannah Nowlan.
Green Magazine, Issue 110
Solara features in Issue 110 of Green Magazine's "In Abundance" article written by Kath Dolan, photographed by Marnie Hawson and styled by Hannah Nowlan, exploring how architecture can work with land, ecology and natural systems to create a home that nurtures both people and place.
Think Brick Awards 2026
Shortlisted for the Horbury Hunt Award, which recognises residential work in clay brick. Solara's curved shell is built from recycled cream bricks with a dragged mortar finish.
Artedomus x The Local Project (Emerging) Designer Awards 2025
Commendation.
To go deeper into the house itself, read Solara: Architecture of the Land and What a 9.6-Star Home Actually Feels Like to Live In, or visit the project page.
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