Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

See why this Australian home – with internal ponds and 'rivers' – has gone viral

See why this Australian home – with internal ponds and 'rivers' – has gone viral

Plants and fish ponds weave between four bedrooms, a dream pool and a marble kitchen in this modern oasis in Sydney

A strikingly modern house in Australia that takes indoor/outdoor living to the next level has been shared around the world.

Formerly a 1920s cottage, it's been completely transformed and is now a spectacular oasis through which plants and fish ponds weave between four bedrooms, a dream pool and a luxury kitchen.

                                

Named 'Iron Maiden House', the design by CplusC architects was given its name for being the first steel-clad house in the neighbourhood.

                                

Founder and lead architect Clinton Cole spent three years designing this home, inspired by the shape of a natural gorge.

Located in Sydney’s lower North Shore, this modern house draws on it’s local context and history to create a unique, contemporary home. It's consistent with the immediate neighbours in terms of setbacks and maximum height. However, the form is a modern re-interpretation of the gable houses typically found in the area.

                                

The house was designed for a family of five who wanted a home which celebrated the Sydney climate after returning from many years living in Hong Kong. They wanted an inside-out house after twenty years of apartment living.

A key aspect of their brief to the architects was for a home that had a strong relationship to nature and space to entertain and grow with the family.

                                

The interiors feature generous living and entertaining areas which flow between indoors and out, while an elevated external corridor connects the children’s bedrooms with views over the garden and swimming pool.

                                

But Clinton Cole's pièce de résistance is the fish pond that divides the home into two pavilions, a clever feature that cools warm breezes and drowns the sound of passing traffic with a blissful white noise from its bubbling fountain.

                                

The house's shape was inspired by a natural gorge, in which water cuts through rock to form secluded spaces. The house was sliced through the middle, with a long pond forming a 'stream' that runs through the middle of the home.

                                

Slender, cathedral-like spaces were formed around this central thoroughfare with ponds running parallel to walkways to link the spaces.

                                

Large floor-to-ceiling windows frame postcard-worthy views in different directions, and generous stair treads form a place to sit opposite the largest window.

                                

Garden courtyards and ponds weave between rooms, seamlessly blurring the lines between indoors and out.

                                

There's also a sunken pool, fire pit and an enormous kitchen with two kitchen islands.

The kitchen is dominated by two marble-top islands, which the owners envisaged as the perfect spot for entertaining guests and serving food.

                                

A corner sofa at the back of the kitchen provides space for lounging, watching TV, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper in the morning.

                                

The owners' willingness to experiment with the avant-garde enabled Clinton Cole to design the kind of daring structure he had always wanted to create, one where bedrooms, bathrooms and hallways spill out into the open air.

Shrouded in a corrugated metal sheet, the house is so-called for being the first steel-clad house in Longueville, a neighbourhood characterised by conservative gabled houses which makes the 'Iron Maiden' all the more striking.

                                

The distinctive cladding is a nod to the iconic Australian vernacular material which is intended to age over time, developing rusted edges.

                                

The cladding is a traditional material used in Australian construction for the past 200 years. The galvanised metal sheet that fronts the house is still manufactured in the same way it was when it was imported by British settlers in the 1800s.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
×