When renovating a 1920s semi-detached home in Tamarama, a beachfront suburb near Sydney, architect David Langston-Jones decided to invert the house. He reconfigured the space so that the living space opened to the yard, then took the exterior elements and used them to decorate the interior as well. The concrete and corrugated steel design creates a dialogue between inside and outside, all on a fixed budget of roughly $175,000.

Initially raised 400 millimeters above the ground, the home was lowered onto a new concrete slab to gain additional space. However, the way the plumbing lines were laid out meant the bathroom had to stay at ground level, leading to a quirky step down from the main floor. Despite the challenges, the resulting structure, which clocks in at a little more than 800 square feet, manages to pack a kitchen, bathroom, and lofted living space together, yet still boasting a spacious living area that opens into a newly accessible garden.

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