Wongawilli is a weekend residence on rural land near the tiny village of Kangaloon in the southern highlands region of New South Wales. The architectural concept was to create a two-storey barn like pavilion with the bedrooms tucked well into the roof space, with relatively small ‘dormer’ style windows to the north, resulting in the appearance of a galvanised iron shed or traditional rural farmhouse.

The area is subject to cold winter winds and low temperatures, so the design focus was on maximising energy efficiency. The walls were constructed with masonry interiors and veneer exteriors, combined with the use of ‘Astro-foil’ between the studwork and battens to trap heat in winter and keep it out in summer. The house consists of two levels, an upper bedroom floor which has smaller windows to minimise heat gain/loss, and sunshading for summer protection. It also receives heat generated from the lower level, which has large windows to maximise solar gain in winter, and is protected from summer sun by the overhanging floor above, and additional shading over the openings. All downstairs rooms are cellular, with tight fitting aluminium doors with rubber seals to minimise heat loss in winter. Tight fitting blinds and curtains minimise heat loss from windows and a double-glazed all-glass veranda room downstairs is used as a sunroom on warm days and is not used at all during cold nights.