The house is located in the leafy suburb of Toorak. It is under a heritage overlay zone with height control. The site area is approximately 808sqm with a steep slope up from the entry to the back. This has been radically modified by the design to bring the whole internal space and garden to a flat level which becomes user friendly, as well as responding to the height restriction from a covenant on the title. The street is on the south which gives a preferred orientation to the site – offering the northern sunny side to the private open space. The entry of the 3-storey residence has been set at the street level which is about one level down from its eastern and northern neighbours. The upper level is the private realm with a master bedroom, the second bedroom and a study. The family area is located on the ground floor, where two major living spaces are flanked the main gallery space which reaches both basement floor and first floor. A Japanese style dry garden is on south outside of lounge/ library and a stone paved northern courtyard that runs the family room providing a perfect outdoor living space with a reflective pool around.