Contemporary three-storey home with dark cladding and timber screen, a built Hutch Architecture home in Merewether, Newcastle

Architects for
Merewether, Newcastle.

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We design homes across Merewether — one of Newcastle's most sought-after coastal suburbs, where sloping sites, ocean outlook and tightly held, valuable lots reward careful, contemporary design.

Designing for Merewether's coastal sites

Merewether's blocks are among the most valuable in Newcastle — often steep, often compact, and almost always shaped by the view and the coastal climate. Getting the most from them means resolving levels, privacy, solar access and outlook together, whether that's a compact home on a medium-density lot or a larger home stepping down a hillside.

We plan every square metre to add value and amenity, using circulation, courtyards and outdoor living to open a home up to its setting. We manage the whole process — feasibility, the Development Application with the City of Newcastle, and construction — so the design intent survives all the way to handover.

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What we do in Merewether

  • New contemporary homes on compact & sloping sites
  • Steep-site & split-level design
  • Pool, outdoor living & view-focused planning
  • Feasibility & site assessment
  • Development Application & City of Newcastle liaison
  • Construction certificate & builder support to handover

Selected Merewether projects

Two Merewether homes — a compact, vertically stacked contemporary home a short walk from Bar Beach, and a larger home designed to step down a coastal hillside.

Built contemporary three-storey home with dark cladding and timber screening, Buchanan Street, Merewether
Built

Compact-site home

Buchanan Street, Merewether

On a compact site at the edge of a medium-density zone, this home makes the most of the three-storey height limit with an unashamedly contemporary form that's expressive of its efficient planning. The 900mm boundary setbacks that usually just compromise internal space become narrow landscape strips that visually and physically extend the rooms.

Vertically stacked, the home uses its circulation to enliven the living spaces — a fabricated steel-and-glass stair connects the floors with views through to the kitchen and courtyards. Light-filled first-floor bedrooms overlook the outdoor living area and pool, the master suite has the feel of a resort, and a discreet top-floor entertaining area opens to views over Bar Beach.

Design render of a contemporary home stepping down a sloping coastal site with a pool, Hillcrest Road, Merewether
Design

Sloping-site home

Hillcrest Road, Merewether

A contemporary home designed for a steep Merewether site, stepping down the slope so each level opens to its own terrace. Curved balconies and planted edges soften the form, and the outdoor living is arranged around a pool and a central fire pit that make the most of the elevated coastal setting.

Project write-up to come — happy to expand this with your notes on the brief.

"They understood exactly what we wanted before we could put it into words ourselves."

— Hutch Architecture client, Newcastle

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Planning a project in Merewether?

Join our 45-minute Free Project Consultation. We'll assess your site's potential — including its slope, outlook and planning constraints — and send a personalised one-page action plan before you commit to a design direction.

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Merewether — frequently asked questions

Do you design for steep or sloping sites in Merewether?

Yes. Many Merewether blocks are steep. We resolve levels, privacy, solar access and outlook together — stepping the home down the slope so each level opens to its own outdoor space and the view.

Can you make the most of a compact Merewether block?

Yes. On tight sites we plan efficiently and vertically, using every square metre to add value — even turning the compliant boundary setbacks into narrow landscape strips that visually and physically extend the internal rooms.

Do you handle council approvals in Merewether?

Yes. We prepare the Development Application, resolve the building-envelope and height controls, and manage the process with the City of Newcastle from feasibility through to construction.

What does the design process involve?

Four phases: Feasibility, Design Development, Detailed Design and Construction — each with two or three defined steps, from your first brief through to handover, with one point of contact throughout.