The Project
Leaf House is built on an escarpment overlooking the Pacific Ocean and northern beaches of Sydney – a building tempered by the Australian bush. The design embraces a breathtaking site with architecture of equal measure.
The house focuses on its rugged landscape and garden setting, complimenting an existing weatherboard beach house and part of a larger residential complex. The building resonates with the natural forms that surround it, drawing on organic metaphors that infuse it with nature, and connect the in and outside.
Leaf House is shaped by the local environment. The building is located in-the-round and opens in all directions, blending together the interior and exterior in an experience that is both inside, and in the garden at the same time.
The house merges diffusely into the landscape. Undulating glass walls modulate light to bend and stretch the interior; an interleaved roof filters sunlight and keyhole views, while projecting a small footprint outwards; an emblematic structure conveys a narrative in addition to carrying the weight of the building.
Leaf House reflects and responds to its surroundings, engaging occupants with an architecture that matches an exceptional site.
Leaf House process video from Babekuhl on Vimeo
Project Team
Undercurrent Architects : Didier Ryan, German Perez Tavio, Claudia Youl
Jack Hodgson Engineers ; Elliotwood Llp
Photography: Hugh Rutherford
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