Holocene House by CplusC Architects + Builders
Holocene House is a carbon-positive house in Sydney, Australia, conceived and built by CplusC Architects + Builders. The project turns daily life toward water, plants, and coastal air, using performance-driven strategies to meet its bushland setting. Inside, a double-height living room, colored glass, and an intimate roof garden shift attention from the ocean panorama to a lush interior world that still connects outdoors.
Water gathers at the rear and drifts forward, catching light off reeds and stone. A quiet rush sets the tone, and every room opens toward planted edges.
This is a house tuned to its coastal setting and bushland edge. The typology is domestic, the outlook expansive, but the intent is intimate. The brief is clear: make a healthy home that performs in climate and supports life, from family rituals to night-foraging bandicoots.
Entering Beside Water
Approach starts on stone treads, stepping alongside a cascading runnel that drops toward the entry. The sequence leads past veils of planting to a double-height living room where colored glass throws shifting bands of light across timber and water. Each threshold feels deliberate. Doors and openings pull breezes through, easing the coastal heat while keeping the sound of water close.
Turning Toward Garden
Rather than chase the postcard ocean view, daily life concentrates around a living watercourse shaded by planted structure. The pool at the heart is natural, cleansed by a biofiltration train of polishing ponds, reeds, charcoal, and pebbles that keep water clear and in motion. A spiral stair rises to a compact roof garden for outlook and quiet. From there, the harbor glints through, reframed by the stained-glass patchwork below.
Building for Bushland
The site addresses coastal heath at the rear and Shelly Beach to the front, demanding bushfire readiness and ecological care. Construction meets a Bushfire Attack Level of 29 with durable choices and careful detailing, while a bandicoot corridor threads the perimeter so nocturnal foraging proceeds undisturbed. Materials carry purpose. Low‑toxicity finishes cut indoor pollutants, and spotted gum cladding, charred via Shou Sugi Ban, balances longevity with low embodied energy.
Harvesting Sunlight and Rain
Performance is measured in cycles that start on the roof and end in the garden. A photovoltaic array produces about twenty percent more energy than the household needs, pushing the balance beyond zero over time. Water is banked and reused. A 15‑kilolitre underground tank supports self-sufficiency, while grey water feeds local species year-round, and the natural swimming pool doubles as a reservoir that stabilizes the microclimate.
Rooms With Fluid Edges
Living areas open to the deck, where the pool edges meet timber underfoot and a cargo net hangs over the falls for play and pause. Kids paddle, adults lounge, and the whole room breathes with the outside—an everyday cadence that keeps health, comfort, and climate in the same frame. The large volume at the front glows in late sun as colored panes scatter small surprises across walls and water.
Evening settles and the water quiets, leaving a low shimmer under the plants. Light thins, the bandicoots reclaim their route, and the house recedes into the heath with its systems ticking on in the background.
Photography by Renata Dominik
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