Hikari House (meaning light in Japanese) is a carefully resolved response to a steep, irregular site and strict height controls, where architecture, landscape and interior design were developed in close collaboration from the outset. The result is a highly engineered single-level home that wraps around a sheltered central courtyard. The courtyard is more than a visual centrepiece; it plays a key role in the home’s passive performance, supporting natural heating, cooling and ventilation, while strengthening the connection between indoor and outdoor living. Flexible internal spaces open and close around this core, allowing the home to shift with the seasons.
The plan is organised as a series of interlocking pavilions, with the main living spaces and main suite in one wing, and additional bedrooms and a home office set within separate forms. To the east, the “James Bond-style” garage and service spaces are embedded into the hillside. Extensive structural engineering enables open-plan areas to feel expansive, with large solid oak doors used to create more intimate zones when required. Materiality is robust, combining stone, zinc, shiplap weatherboard, steel, board-and-batten, aluminium cladding, ribbed timber panelling, plaster finishes and in-situ concrete. The result is a highly resolved, energy-conscious home defined by clarity of form and a strong relationship to its lakeside landscape.
REGIONAL AWARDS WON
Regional Special Award
Regional Plumbing World Bathroom Excellence
Regional Interior Design Award
Regional Kitchen Excellence
Regional Gold