Figureground Architecture has successfully created a welcoming family retreat with the Warrandyte House, a split-level home that seamlessly blends indoor and outdoor living on a five-hectare hobby farm. The house's relaxed atmosphere was evident during a recent interview, which was conducted without disturbing a group of teenagers enjoying a school holiday sleepover in one wing. The property's flowing indoor-outdoor design evokes images of starlit evenings by the fire pit, complete with visits from the resident llama.
Perched on a ridgeline approximately 25 kilometers northeast of Melbourne, the handsome home offers tranquil views in all directions across bushland and rolling hills. The spectacular escarpment and valley below create such compelling scenery that visitors are continuously drawn outside to take in the breathtaking landscape. Warrandyte itself is more of a bushy hamlet than a typical suburb, and it was precisely this sprawling landscape setting that attracted the family to the area.
The original structure on the site presented significant challenges that required a complete reimagining. According to Figureground director Matt Rawlins, the old house was a gloomy 1980s brick veneer dwelling with low ceilings and no connection to its steeply sloping site or the towering eucalyptus trees surrounding it. The clients, one of whom works in landscaping, had a clear vision for their new home: they wanted a single-story family residence that would be strongly connected to its natural setting.
The family's requirements were comprehensive and practical. They needed spaces that could accommodate both togetherness and retreat, better connection to an existing in-ground pool that overlooks the valley below, and dedicated areas for cooking and eating outdoors year-round. Additionally, the design needed to provide easy access to equipment sheds, as maintaining their small farm requires ongoing upkeep despite being a hobby operation.
Figureground's response was an elegantly sprawling indoor-outdoor pavilion house featuring three purposeful wings dedicated to living, services, and rest. The design's form and materiality explore a refined expression of agricultural buildings, creating a sophisticated interpretation of farm architecture. Openings to terraced gardens and external decks facilitate easy movement for both residents and guests throughout the home.
The house cleverly manages a two-meter elevation change, stepping down from its west-facing entry at the top of the ridge to the pool deck at its eastern edge. "We aligned the house with the contours of the site and scooped out a little more earth to bury it deeper into the ridgeline and better deal with those levels heading down to the pool," Matt explains. "The house is designed to negotiate that two-meter height difference in a very subtle way."
The architectural form features a rectilinear structure of dry-pressed brick crowned with rich charcoal-colored corrugated steel and grounded into wispy native landscaping. Massed grasses create constant motion in the breeze, softening edges and blurring the junctions between built and natural environments. The approach from the west leads down an entry bridge of monumental concrete steps, with a deck connecting the entry to separate pavilions for the carport and mudroom, then filtering through to an outdoor dining area and the pool beyond.
"We wanted the entry to be a little bit permeable, giving you different access paths," Matt says. Inside, the design thoughtfully separates private and public spaces using a central services pod that contains a study, storage, and bathroom, complete with sliders for opening or closing off areas as needed. An L-shaped bedroom wing is topped with an attic that's perfect for sleepovers and culminates in a rumpus room with an adjacent main bedroom that comes alive with views southward to surrounding box gums.
Each wing occupies its own discrete level, linked by just a few steps that make the rise and fall subtle, exactly as intended by the architects. A skillion roof helps the interior volumes expand and compress expressively, creating dynamic spatial experiences throughout the home. At the double-height entry, opaque glass admits translucent light and dancing shadows from the exterior's hit-and-miss brickwork pattern.
Stepping down into the kitchen, dining, and living zone, which is warmed by a double-sided log fire, visitors experience a dramatic change as the dark ceiling swoops down and focuses attention on sweeping views across the northeast. "Deep revealed timber window sections draw the focus out," Matt explains. "It foregrounds the eucalyptus trees and the valley beyond." This space feels like the culmination of the architectural journey, yet its design inevitably draws people back outside to experience the landscape from yet another angle.
The project utilized carefully selected materials and products throughout. The roofing features custom folded Colorbond Monument, while external walls combine dry-pressed bricks from PGH Bricks in Megalong Valley Grey with silvertop ash cladding. Interior walls incorporate the same dry-pressed bricks, crown-cut blackbutt veneer, and plasterboard with V-groove boards in Dulux Brume. Windows feature Abodo Vulcan frames in Straw, and doors use Lodden hardware from Designer Doorware in Black. Solid blackbutt flooring runs throughout, complemented by carefully curated lighting from various sources including Sphera tracklights, Masson downlights, and Artemide Ball lights.
The project team included Matt Rawlins, John Pagnozzi, and Nicholas Peron from Figureground Architecture, with engineering by Structed Consulting Engineering and landscape work by Habitat Construction and Developments and Austin Landscape Design. The house, built on the land of the Wurundjeri people, covers 330 square meters on a 52,500 square meter rural site. Both design and documentation, as well as construction, each took 12 months to complete, resulting in a new residential home that perfectly captures the essence of contemporary Australian farm living.
