Terraced living above the Derwent.

Elevated above Bellerive and looking out across the timtumili minanya / River Derwent, this steeply terraced garden turns a challenging site into its greatest asset. Rather than fighting the topography, the design celebrates it, using the fall of the land to reveal contrasting plant forms and textures at every level.

Large dolerite outcrops are made features rather than obstacles, anchoring the garden in its geological story. A raw steel staircase threads down through the levels to a productive lower garden and caged vegetable arbour, while groundcovers and low shrubs spill over retaining edges, softening what could have read as hard infrastructure. The verticality becomes a kind of choreography, each level offering a different relationship with the landscape below.

The upper terrace is a place to pause. Extensive river views unfold slowly here, inviting the kind of contemplation that seasonal change rewards. Curved spaces, natural materials and gentle paths through native plantings work together to soften the home’s strong architectural lines, settling the building into its surroundings rather than imposing it upon them.