The site was purchased by an author seeking a tree change having lived in inner city Melbourne for many years. The dwelling is part of a larger project to re-imagine and revitalize the underworked paddock into a place of habitation, connection, and reflection. The site slopes in the north-south direction and have been sculptured into subtly undulations from surface water that seeps through the ground from the adjacent Springhill. The dwelling is sited towards the high point of the site adjacent an outcrop of granite that forms an imperceptible rise to the north of the building site, offering both a foreground for aspect from the dwelling and obscuring view and noise from the road.

Like much of rural Australia, haysheds are dotted through the Macedon Ranges. Their simple forms reflect rational necessity. Often located on high ground, their figure in the landscape contributed to the Australian myth of shelter and defiance. The project extends upon these themes to create a place within the paddock. A large roof stretches beyond the enclosed spaces to act as a place-maker, defining the area of habitation from the treeless grass expanse. Pitching north-south to align with the fall of the land, the large roof collects the dwellings drinking water and energy. The roof is held up by a series of glulam portal frames creating clear flexible space that shelters the internal and external activities of the dwelling.