House in the Hills by Sean Godsell Architects

Built on the land of the Wathaurong people

Barrabool, Victoria

Jury citation House in the Hills initially presents as an abstract intervention in the rural Victorian landscape, challenging our perception of rural domesticity. A hovering parasol, inspired by steel-framed hay sheds, performs as place-maker, defining the habitation precinct within the rolling twenty-five-hectare site. Restrained and expansive, it establishes a datum line within the landscape, emphasizing changes in the topography.

Beneath this parasol, a new landscape is established, with two pavilions and the reshaped ground plane surrounding an inner courtyard. Above, the parasol’s operable louvres permit varying degrees of light and shade, depending on the time of year and day, and protect the house from pummelling southwesterly winds.

In contrast to the unashamedly rigorous metallic exterior, the house’s plywood interior is warm and inviting. Inside, the vast landscape views and broad extent of the parasol enlarge the perception of the modestly scaled rooms.

House in the Hills’ evocative silhouette is precise and immaculately detailed. This is an ambitious family home on a beautiful yet unrelenting site.

Architect Sean Godsell Architects; Project team Sean Godsell (project director), Hayley Franklin (project architect); Engineer Perrett Simpson; Building surveyor Nelson McDermott; Quantity surveyor Plan Cost Australia; ESD consultant Greensphere Consulting; Landscape consultant Eckersley Garden Architecture; Builder Poulsen Builders