This two level courtyard house for a family of four is located on the edge of a canal at Noosa Waters. Our clients, who own a design store at Noosa Heads, were seeking a bold design with a strong sense of place.

Monumental black brick walls punctured by a scattered composition of square windows run the length of the site from the street to the canal. Bougainvillea climbs up the walls on the northern side providing colour and shade. These walls are traversed by a series of sliding timber screens which moderate the strong sunlight and provide privacy from the street and canal. The living areas are arranged around a courtyard with a circular pool, and connected via a central circulation spine. A deep set varandah contained by cedar patchwork screens overlooks the canal and provides shade and shelter from the afternoon sun.

The house interior has a calm, contemplative atmosphere with a paired back palette of black brick walls, raw concrete floors and spotted gum timber joinery.

Design inspiration was drawn from a combination of Australian woolsheds, the delicate Aboriginal patchwork drawings in the Queensland Art Gallery and Sidney Nolan’s iconic Ned Kelly paintings.