On the market: Bangalay by Peter Stutchbury

Designed by Peter Stutchbury and completed in 2005, Bangalay in Kangaroo Valley in New South Wales represents a culmination of the architect’s thinking about how to build and live sustainably.

Stutchbury has described the building as “a leather armchair … the longer you’re there, the more comfortable it becomes.” The modest house – it has just two bedrooms – was designed for a couple who are selling it for the first time.

Stutchbury has described the building as “a leather armchair … the longer you’re there, the more comfortable it becomes.”

The dwelling is set on a 43-hectare site that was once part of the Budderoo National Park and is completely self-sufficient. The concrete slab has underfloor heating, while solar panels provide the building with sufficient power.

Bangalay has an ingenious yet simple floor plan: it runs from east to west, with the bathrooms and laundry on the southern side and the bedrooms at the western end, with the living spaces taking in the eastern and northerly aspects.