Yandoit House is a prefabricated dwelling in regional Victoria, designed to sit quietly within a regenerating landscape. Located on a former farm property, the project reflects the client’s long-term commitment to ecological restoration, transforming a site once degraded by agriculture into one defined by native replanting, habitat renewal and care for Country.
The house is positioned at the centre of a circular earth berm, a raised mound created to mitigate the acoustic impact of a nearby highway. During an early site visit, it became clear that the ambient drone of traffic could be softened by changes in topography. This was first noticed while sitting at the edge of one of the site’s many dams, where the slope deflected sound overhead. That moment sparked the idea for the berm — an acoustic and spatial intervention that not only buffers noise but creates a clear threshold between the wild, expanding bush and a more curated domestic garden.
A square plan was chosen for its efficiency. It offers the greatest internal area for the smallest perimeter, reducing the complexity and cost of the façade. A fully glazed elevation provides 360-degree views, bringing the evolving landscape into every space, from the living areas to the shower and bath. This full visual immersion transforms everyday rituals into something quietly extraordinary.
Despite its significant glazing, this home performs incredibly well thermally, requiring minimal or no supplementary heating and cooling even in the height of regional summer and winter.
We used the slab cooling throughout the summer, but are yet to have call to turn on the slab heating once in several months of frosty winters. And it’s so effective we’ve limited the fireplace to occasional bioethanol burnings, which is pretty as we retire to bed. Astounding.
