Amaroo has been described as “a stunning new build family home in Brisbane's inner west suburb of Bardon.” But it's much more than that.

In terms of its site, it is built on a wide fronted, sloping block in a leafy river city suburb where the design provides for the ultimate sub-tropical living that maximises vast open connection to highly considered private outdoor spaces.

According to the architect, the brief was “to provide a high end, family haven that is both hidden from the world and highly connected to the outside.”

The clients, says the architect, “wanted to create a resort feel that was light and open with the balance of still being warm, textural and homely - an escape from the city.”

So, while the challenge was to accommodate a family home on a steeply sloping block. This ‘challenge’ at the same time became one of the fundamental drivers of the brief and was certainly a factor in the arrangement of the spatial arrangements of the house and its components.

The solution, says the architect, “was to create an elevated "L" shaped plan, to provide a protected courtyard arrangement, that would maximise views and allow seamless interaction to outdoor spaces.”

“A screened facade wraps the upper levels, overhanging a more open ground floor plane to provide the cantilevered edge; which gives privacy, weather and heat protection and a sense of lightness to the floating facade,” says the firm.

However, put another way, Amaroo has also provdied a taste to what can be done with the ever-shrinking Aussie backyard.

Key products used:

Reece "Sussex" tap ware
Eco Outdoor "Crakenback" Stone
Terrazzo flooring from Skheme tiles
Timber joinery