From the Latin for ?solid ground,? terra firma was an expression used by mariners to describe their nostalgic yearning for land and a solid foothold.  Life at sea is subject to vast ocean currents, shifting tides, and treacherous winds; returning to port, a safe harbor provides a contrasting feeling of stability and permanence.

The inhabitants of this home are sailors; their boat sits at anchor just a few meters from their front door, and though discrete in their instructions, Luigi Rosselli understood there was a subconscious desire for their home to satisfy a yearning for solid ground, terra firma in the architecture.
© Prue Ruscoe
Thirty-five years previously, Luigi had a similar experience with the house he built at Cottage Point on the Hawkesbury River1 for Andrew and Shelley Farris, as modern day mariners, travelling the world with [the band] INXS, all they desired was to introduce a sense of permanence to their existence, a place to rest.  Somewhat ironically, the resulting design for that home resembled the prow of a ship excavated from the riverbank.
This new home is not excavated from but rather perched upon a sandstone outcrop overlooking one of the many sheltered bays scattered throughout the tidal estuary of Sydney Harbour, and it is anchored to the ground by a robust rammed earth base with a warm sandstone coloring.  The two levels above the rammed earth level are brickwork constructed using bricks retained from the demolition of the cottage that origin...