Building on a slope without fighting the hill

Many of our favourite projects stand on plots that others turned down: steep hillsides, rocky coasts, old quarries. A slope is not a problem to be flattened. It is a design opportunity – if you work with the hill instead of against it.

Follow the contour lines

The most economical house on a slope is the one that steps with it. Instead of digging one big flat platform, we split the plan into levels that follow the contours. Each level gets its own garden or terrace, and the amount of earth to move drops dramatically.

Light from above and from the side

A house dug into a hill risks dark rooms at the back. We bring daylight in through roof lights, courtyards and high windows on the uphill side. A section drawn early in the design shows exactly where light can reach.

• Survey the rock and soil before drawing anything.
• Keep the oldest trees – their roots hold the hill together.
• Plan drainage first: water always finds the house on a slope.

Getting there

Access is often the hardest part of a steep site. A gently winding drive, a cable lift for shopping or simply a covered outdoor stair can make daily life easy. We plan the route from the road to the front door as carefully as the rooms themselves.

Light foundations

Where the rock is close to the surface we build on slim concrete pads or steel columns, letting the house hover above the ground. It is cheaper than a retaining wall, lets water flow naturally and leaves the landscape almost untouched.

On a slope the best foundation is often the one you hardly see. Let the house touch the hill, not crush it.

Manuel Douglas

Built this way, a steep plot gives back more than it takes: views from every room, private terraces and a house that looks as if it grew there.