Although called Hawkesbury house it’s nowhere near the Hawkesbury River but on a steep site facing an expansive view tucked into a quiet pocket of residential Canberra. The house is configured as two parallel pavilions stepping up the slope and enclosing an intimate central courtyard. The long axis of both pavilions trends east-west maximise the winter sun and take in the panorama of Woden Valley. The house accommodates a young and growing two-doctor family the site fortuitously permitting a flat nestled under to provide for visitors.

Although the street elevation is heavily glazed to optimise the northern aspect it becomes private by virtue of light above street level the landscaped upward slope.