Architect: Donovan Hill
The Copper House brings two families together on a single site without asking them to live as one. A collection of individually accessible buildings sits beneath two roofs, arranged to flex with the rhythms of holiday life – accommodating a full extended family gathering or a quiet weekend away with equal ease.
At the heart of the project is a covered central landscape that draws the buildings together, offering shaded outdoor space to retreat from the coastal sun. A large portal roof spans the composition, its upper level connected by a bridge-like kitchen that links the structures while preserving their independence. Within the portal, an opening to the sky frames a newly planted pine tree – trained toward the light, it will grow in time to join the canopy of mature pines retained on site, slowly becoming part of the landscape it was born into.
Materials were chosen to age alongside the house rather than resist it. Copper and weather-protected Australian hardwoods mark the passing of time with quiet dignity, their changing appearance a record of seasons spent by the sea. Openings are oriented to capture ocean views, optimise cross-ventilation and manage sun shading – the house working with its environment rather than against it.
See this as part of Brisbane Open House’s Stradbroke Edition on Saturday 25 July, 2026. Join the waitlist here.