Steep Sites

Steep sites present challenges and opportunities in equal measure. The way you tackle a steep site dictates the style and functionality of your home.

Generally speaking you have two options when dealing with a steep site - hunker into the slope, partially submerging some of the home to tackle the incline. The other option is to rise above the slope on stilts of some sort.

Take a look at these houses and learn from the way they deal with a steep, challenging site:

Island Bay House by WireDog Architecture

Stepped House by Rob Kennon Architects

Featured Project Stepped House Deals with a Sloping South-Facing Site with Style Each room of this addition steps down with the contours of the site, while the plan zigzags to access light and connect to the garden.

Warrandyte House by Alexandra Buchanan Architecture

Featured Project This House Cascades Down River Bank on Beautiful But Difficult Site A Melbourne home designed by Alexandra Buchanan Architecture creates a cascade of contemporary family living spaces in a bushfire area.

Hilltop House by Richard Cole Architecture

Featured Project A Bush-Style Home for Beautiful Pittwater Site Hilltop House is a small, carefully crafted dwelling on the steep eastern slopes of Pittwater, a waterway to the north of Sydney.

Martha by Ola Architecture Studio

Featured Project Perched on Top of the Sand Dunes for the Perfect Beach View This timber-clad four bedroom beach-side family home is perched on a steep dune in a quiet pocket of the Mornington Peninsula region.

Mount Ninderry House by Sparks Architects

Featured Project Mount Ninderry House: Low Budget Sustainable House in Picturesque Surrounds Mount Ninderry House is a sustainable house that takes full advantage of its stunning natural setting without the extra cost. And check out that pool!

Venus Bay Bach by MRTN Architects

Featured Project Venus Bay Bach: It's a Piece of New Zealand on the Australian Coast, Bro! Venus Bay Bach is a beach home built on a tight budget, but spacious enough to house family and friends for the weekend. And it doesn't ignore the views...

Cocoon by Bellemo & Cat Architects

Featured Project Cocoon: A Home? Or a Zeppelin That Crash-Landed in the Australian Bush? You don't get homes much more unusual than Cocoon -- a zeppelin-shaped home lofts above its steep site, nestled in the canopy of Australian native treetops.

Jack and Jill House by Breathe Architects

Featured Project Jack and Jill House: No Crowns Were Broken in the Making of This House Level changes in this home inspired its name, Jack and Jill House. It has fairytale-esque fun by the bucketful -- and not a broken crown to be seen...

Ridge Road Residence by Studiofour

Featured Project Ridge Road Residence: A Beach House Where Nature is the Star A single tea tree on the site of this beach house became the focus of the project. The aim became to showcase nature, rather than try to dominate and control it.

Bruny Shore House by Beachouse Architecture

Featured Project Bruny Shore House is Eco-Friendly But Still Has a Dramatic Flair Eco-friendly Bruny Shore House reaches out from one of the steepest parts of the site to take in the dramatic Tasmanian coastline.

Copper House by Takt Studio for Architecture

Featured Project Quality Trumps Quantity in this Small House of Rich Materials This coastal cottage proves that quality always trumps quantity. The small house will age gracefully thanks to quality materials.

Blackpool House by Glamuzina Paterson Architects

Featured Project Blackpool House at Home in the Tree Canopy Tackling difficult topography, a heavily treed site and a modest budget, Blackpool House defiantly lofts amongst the treetops - a modest, modern treehouse.

Lake Crackenback Ski Lodge by Lance Workshop Architecture and Design

Featured Project A Finely Crafted Ski Lodge at Lake Crackenback When there's snow on the slopes, there's no better place to head after a long day than this finely crafted ski lodge. There's even a Japanese style bath to soak your aching bones.

Herston Gardenhouse by Refresh Architecture

Featured Project Herston Gardenhouse Re-Conceptualises Contemporary Inner-City Living Hereston Gardenhouse pops up in a disused back yard and demonstrates a way to make cities more dense and (importantly) sustainable.

Arrowtown House by Kerr Ritchie Architecture

Featured Project Modest Arrowtown House Mimics the Look of Nearby Sheds and Outhouses In accordance with a local planning law, Arrowtown House is a series of small buildings similar to the the surrounding historic sheds.

Cosgriff House by Christopher Polly Architects

Featured Project Cosgriff House: Semi-Subterranean Extension for Backyard Connection A new rear extension, much of which is under the existing house, creates a new-found connection to the backyard on this sloping site.

Waiatarua House by Monk Mackenzie Architects

Featured Project Waiatarua House: A New House on a Steep, Challenging Site One of the challenges at Waiatarua House was to giving the home a sense of modesty and poetry in the sensitive bush reserve.

Highway House by Room 11

Featured Project Highway House Seems to Float Dramatically Above a Sheer Slope The compact Highway House takes full advantage of its difficult, but dramatic site — sitting lightly over Hobart and the Derwent River…