New houses in the distant semi-rural suburbs of Sydney tend to be oversized as the land value is relatively cheap. Is there an alternative to the big McMansion?

Is it possible to reduce the scale of a house with a four car garage? In this case the gently sloping site helps, with the opportunity to insert the building into the hillside, leaving the landscape dominant. The main rooms all opening out onto a generous north-facing deck, with the bedrooms to the west. The services are carved in the ground behind a feature stone wall. Because the house is developed mainly on one level, the plan is deep. A central patio brings light into its core. The roof is landscaped to further reduce the impact of the building.

Location: Picton NSW, Australia 34°10’30.49″S, 150°37’42.96″E
Date: 2002
Design Team: Thierry Lacoste, David Stevenson
Photography / images: Lacoste+Stevenson Architects