Our client is a builder in Mount Martha on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. It is a very generous site with established trees, mainly eucalypts, within an old pasture. The site enjoys views out to Port Philip bay to the south - the same aspect from which the storms and squalls arrive; a condition that has bent and twisted the existing trees as a result. The house design responds to the strong weather from the south, with the south wall strong and solid. It ‘protects’ the rest of the house and the courtyards which lie to the north (also providing excellent passive solar design). The large opening in the south wall can be opened for the one good evening of the Victorian summer. At other times it is used as a ‘picture window’ and can be insulated through cold periods or at night.