Middle Dural House, New South Wales home design, Modern Sydney residence photos, Australian property

Middle Dural House in New South Wales, AU

Updated 17 February 2026

Architects: Andrew Donaldson Architecture & Design

Location: Middle Dural, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Photos © Barton Taylor

Middle Dural House, NSW, Australia

Middle Dural House by Andrew Donaldson Architecture & Design (ADAD) is a rural residence outside Sydney that reimagines barn archetypes as sleek minimalism, realised through sustainable cross-laminated timber (CLT). The project embodies design excellence, ecological stewardship, and European craft lineage, expressed in a sequence of sculptural pavilions embedded in the landscape.

Materially, the house favours a palette of durability and tactility: shou sugi ban charred ironbark and black steel form a robust exterior, while inside, Victorian Ash CLT portals, Tasmanian Oak ceilings, and bespoke timber joinery bring warmth and craft. Travertine floors and hydronically heated concrete slabs enrich the interior experience, complemented by high-performance glazing. Off-grid systems — solar generation, rainwater harvesting, and on-site treatment — ensure sustainable autonomy.

The design follows natural contours, inscribing glass-lined walkways that connect wings like a necklace across the escarpment. Courtyards, a billabong-like pool, and firepit gatherings extend the architecture outward, framing dramatic views while nurturing intimate family life. Crafted for a master builder and his son, the house is both deeply personal and environmentally experimental, with staged CLT construction refining each pavilion over time.

Anchored low within its escarpment setting, and quietly resisting the ostentation of surrounding suburban mansions, the home demonstrates resilience, innovation, and poetic restraint. It exemplifies how contemporary Australian architecture can weave ecology, craftsmanship, and cultural lineage into a self-sufficient, enduring family home.

What is the conceptual framework of the project – including underlying principles, values, sustainable initiatives, core ideas and philosophy?
The architectural approach centres on siting the home along key natural contours, allowing its forms to either slip past or launch freely toward spectacular views. Inspired by the client’s vision of peaked barn-like structures, the design echoes his European roots and generational craftsmanship in timber construction.

The strategy began with mapping axial pathways along the land’s natural flow, inscribing internal glass-lined walkways that follow gentle arcs. Functional wings are distributed across the site, including public entertaining and living areas, a master retreat, children’s and guest wing, a cabana and pool house, and a dedicated workshop.

These are connected via courtyards, a fire pit, a contemporary pool as billabong, vegetable gardens, and the extensive natural landscape.

Sustainability is embedded in the material selection and energy systems: a Victorian Ash CLT structure experiment built in stages, recycled hardwood finishes, passive solar heating, cross ventilation, double glazing, and a 10.5kW solar system, Rainwater harvesting (100,000L) and on-site wastewater treatment further contribute to its off-grid capability.

The highest quality recycled materiality – Victorian Ash portals, Tasmanian Oak, Venetian plaster, and shou sugi ban timber – reinforces the continuum of distant past and possible futures.

What contribution does the design make to the lives of the inhabitants?
The house is a deeply personal series of spaces, crafted for and by a master craftsman and repeat client, for himself and his young son.

Its zoned ‘necklace’ layout allows for intimate family moments, while seamlessly integrating expansive entertaining spaces, at once showcasing his construction expertise to visitors, home schooling his son as a duo, or celebrating with the community.

The use of natural materials and abundant light fosters a calming, restorative atmosphere, enhancing daily living through sensory engagement.

Passive environmental design ensures thermal comfort year-round, promoting a self-sustaining lifestyle where the architecture responds naturally to climate.

What is the relationship of the built form to the context of the project?
Middle Dural House is anchored within its escarpment setting, at one with the site. The wings are deliberately sited to follow the natural contours, preserving existing site features while offering dramatic viewpoints over Pangari Creek and the surrounding bushland.

Its sits far back from the street, slung low, almost invisible as a sleek black, enigma – in vast contrast to its overtly ostentatious, super scaled McMansions and lawns.

Its bushfire-responsive design ensures resilience without compromising openness or liveability, protective ‘Barn forms’, skewed so ends capture Northern light but can strongly resist any bushfire event from the valley below.

How does the functional performance match the clients’ brief in terms of program resolution?
The design is a layered response to a complex brief, accommodating both the client’s requirement for a staged build, experiments in the initial pavilion to optimise in latter pavilions, while anticipating changing father son needs over the 5-year construction journey.

A charred timber and glass spine protects and links the 6 pavilions on the key 138m contour, where circulation transverses the site line itself each short peaked for with open northern and southern courtyard ends, forming endless spatial combinations.

Structural 3.6m Vic Ash CLT bays define the rhythm, Joinery zones within their depth, loft spaces for kids below their peaks.

How effective were the decisions related to financial issues in terms of a Cost / Value outcome?
The project was completed on time and on budget. Staging was key. What became the pool house, was the original Client and Son living space – where early CLT experiments and functional options could be tested.

Pre Fab CLT minimised labor costs while enhancing environmental performance. Strategic prefabrication and on-site material reuse lowered waste. Double glazing panel limitations in the Bushfire zone greatly reduced cost.

A careful balance of bespoke craftsmanship and off-the-shelf elements allowed for cost efficiency without sacrificing detail, resulting in an economically responsible, long-term sustainable dwelling, where energy self-sufficiency and low-maintenance materials ensure continued value for generations to come.

How does this project demonstrate innovation and excellence in terms of environmental sustainability?
The project reduces waste through on-site material reuse and staged CLT experimentation.

Prefabricated Victorian Ash CLT minimises pollution and extends material life, while double-glazed bushfire-compliant panels enhance energy efficiency.

Solar power, rainwater harvesting (100,000L), and on-site wastewater treatment enable off-grid living.

The landscape restores native systems with endemic species, sandstone, and ironbark from site.

Spatial flexibility and deep client involvement embed education and agency in sustainable living.

The project exemplifies best-practice sustainability, integrating passive design, regenerative thinking, and long-term material stewardship into a handcrafted, self-sufficient architectural response