Banyalla sits on an Otway Coast hillside, surveying the valley and ocean below. It protects warm interior timber tones from the harsh elements outside with an outer shell of dark metal.

Appearing as a shadow so not to dominate the hillside, the home features an irregular vertical rhythm of glazing mimicking the solemn Gums of its surrounds. At dusk the image is reversed, with glazing allowing the inner glow to softly emanate like a lantern.

From within, the experience is one of living inside a painting. Framed natural outlooks surprise at every turn, visions that inspired painters Eugene Von Guerard and Fred Williams. Near silent behind quality glazing and R4 bulk wall insulation, which mediate the quarrel between transparency and thermal performance.

Moving through the building begins via a gallery along the private spaces, which provide glimpses of the views to come, working its way toward the living spaces, which present the most significant gallery works. Here unfolds a view from the living room towards rolling hills and Bass Strait beyond.

Functionally, living and bedroom areas are clustered into public and private realms, with the generous living area taking the primary vantage point, incorporating a large semi-enclosed deck. Banyalla is completely off-grid, incorporating a large rooftop solar array, with batteries and tanks in the subfloor zone. It was efficiently built via a panelised methodology for $1,200,000 (incl. GST).