Bluff House is a contemporary three level house designed by Auhaus Architecture, for a steeply sloping site backing onto the Barwon Heads golf course, in Victoria, Australia. The house was designed as a series of stepped interior and exterior spaces meandering upward from the street towards seclusion and views at the rear of the block.

The house and landscape are fully integrated, providing a series of fluid living zones and a continuous dialogue between the internal spaces and surrounding environment. The tapered, curved studio space, landscape entry stair and roof planters evoke the local bluff landscape, drawing you up and into the heart of the house.

The first floor living sits level with the native vegetation at the rear of the site. Roof gardens and enclosed decks increase the sense of seclusion and connection to the landscape. The natural material palette of copper, timber and concrete will age and patina over time.

Bold and stylized, the building complements the lines of the sculptural Moonah trees that surround it, while a series of fluid living zones instigates a continuous dialogue between the internal spaces and surrounding environment that has been furthered by deep-set reveals that heighten awareness of the surrounding landscape while screening out the adjoining neighbors.

Photos: Trevor Mein & Auhaus Architecture