This Brick Backyard House Doubles as a Sunken Living Room for the Garden

January 24, 2024

This Brick Backyard House Doubles as a Sunken Living Room for the Garden

Pocket doors and a timber-slatted screen slide away to connect the airy interiors with a patio and lawn.

Houses We Love: Every day we feature a remarkable space submitted by our community of architects, designers, builders, and homeowners. Have one to share? Post it here.

Project Details:

Location: Sydney, Australia

Architect: Brcar Morony Architecture

Footprint: 915 square feet

Builder: Cubic Construction Management

Structural Engineer: Cantilever

Landscape Design: Even Spaces

Cabinetry Design: North Shore Custom Cabinetmaking

Photographer: Justin Alexander / @justinalexanderphoto

From the Architect: "Dubbed A House for Grandma, this project is a pavilion within the landscape. Spaces are modest in size yet comfortable for functional contemporary living. The architecture provides a neutral canvas for the display of furniture, objects, and a lifetime of memories. The project is part of a larger renovation of an existing single-story dwelling. The secondary dwelling was part of the overall brief and master plan of the site; to maximize the site’s potential and create options for our client.

"For the space, we transformed an unused garage/garden area into a beautiful yet functional space that caters to the lifestyle needs of our family, both now and into the future. It is a space for grandma, but also one for family gatherings.

A simple and minimal palette that includes brick and concrete was selected to be cost efficient and we fostered our commitment to minimizing our carbon footprint by not over specifying finishes. Our aim was to achieve a timeless, warm, and unadorned materials palette that can fit the end user."