The venue comprises two interconnected homes forming a unified built structure: a homestead for the owners, which also serves as a space for entertaining and providing information, and an adjacent short-term rental house. Both buildings are thoughtfully oriented to face north, towards the Lachlan River, the vital water source for the area. This orientation, along with the design, exemplifies an extreme form of passive solar design, ensuring the homes are energy-efficient and comfortable year-round.

A central courtyard between the homes acts as a communal space where owners and guests can meet to discuss the sustainability features of both the houses and the cultivated gardens that surround them. The owners’ house includes an extended fly-screened outdoor room facing east, which is ideal for capturing the morning sun during winter breakfasts and offers a cool retreat from the afternoon heat in summer.

A spine wall, crucial to the homes’ thermal mass, runs through the structure, dividing the active, inhabited spaces on the north side from the ‘servant’ spaces and activities on the south. This design not only enhances the thermal performance of the homes but also creates a clear delineation between living areas and functional spaces, contributing to the overall efficiency and sustainability of the venue.

Photography by Lloyd Bear and KWM (owners)