Fraser Mudge
Architects

Project

Field House 2024
Team

Photography: Tom Ross
Interior: Olive Cooke
Landscape: Cooke Landscape Architecture
Builder: Morada
Awards
2026 Houses Awards - Shortlist
New Houses over 200sqm

About

Field House sits within a rural subdivision in Ewingsdale in Northern NSW Australia. The site is generous and private with expansive views to Cape Byron. The home references a typical Australian homesteads creating a home that is sympathetic to the surrounding environment whilst defining an architecture that speaks to the lands rural history.

Three distinct forms are arranged to create a T-shaped footprint of the home . The bedroom wing is then pushed off axis to create a distinct geometry where the forms meet at the entry of the dwelling. The main entry is defined by a simple external sliding screen which sits at the end of a long blank entry facade. Void of openings, the external corridor withholds a sense of the home's interior until entry emphaasising the entry experience.

The floor plan separates living, master suite and bedrooms into three distinct wings, each with their own unique connection to the site. The primary orientation of the living pavilion seasonly changes from north to south. In winter living is focused toward the north and the expansive garden, whilst during the long hot summer months the primary focus is flipped to the south over looking the pool with timber screens protecting the northern facade and softening the intense seasonal sunlight.

The construction is economical and efficient utilising prefabricated timber roof trusses. Designed specifically for a team of skilled carpenters to construct both simply and rapidly, focusing on simple but well resolved construction detailing. The approach limits the use of specialist subcontractors allowing the carpentry team to work fluidly and unencumbered.

The home is clad with an Australian Hardwood (Spotted Gum) which is both honest and robust. As the timber weathers and greys the house will continue to further develop its connection with the native landscape. The landscape of native grasses and paperbarks connects the home to the site and becomes and extension of the internal spaces.