Architects Choose NaturePositive+ Declared Weathertex Material for Acreage Retreat

Natural Australian timber helped Cadence & Co create a contemporary country retreat inspired by traditional American barns

Set among rolling green hills and bushland near Sydney's Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, The Stables is a country acreage project that feels a world away from the pace of the city.

Designed and owned by Darren Mills, Co-founder of Cadence & Co, the property brings together contemporary Australian living and the character of traditional rural architecture, with a material palette chosen to sit naturally within the surrounding landscape.

Central to the design is Weathertex Natural Flatsheets & Weatherboards, a Global GreenTag PLATINUM NaturePositive+ Declared™ product.

Creating a Contemporary Australian Barn

The main residence, complete with an outdoor fireplace and swimming pool, overlooks timber stables and open fields. Drawing inspiration from traditional American barns, the architecture uses natural timber surfaces to establish a strong connection between the buildings and their rural setting.

For the stables, Weathergroove 300 Natural architectural panels with battens were selected and left unstained, allowing the timber to age naturally and develop its own character over time.

The large-format panels create the appearance and strong vertical lines of traditional timber cladding while providing the installation advantages of a sheet product. Their scale is particularly suited to the stables' high walls and triangular roofline, helping create the project's distinctive barn-inspired form.

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Materials that Belong in the Landscape

Material selection plays an important role in the character of The Stables.

Weathertex Natural products are manufactured predominantly from Australian hardwood timber fibre, with paraffin wax added for water repellence. The Natural range offers the appearance and texture of raw timber and can be left to weather naturally or stained to create different architectural finishes.

For The Stables, leaving the Weathergroove panels natural allows the exterior to evolve with exposure to the elements, reinforcing the connection between the architecture and the surrounding acreage.

The result is a building that feels grounded in its landscape rather than imposed upon it.

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Independently Verified Sustainability Performance

The choice of Weathertex also brings independently assessed sustainability credentials to the project.

Weathertex Natural Flatsheets & Weatherboards have achieved a PLATINUM NaturePositive+ Declaration™ rating of 153% from Global GreenTag International.

The NaturePositive+ assessment considers a broad range of product impacts extending beyond carbon alone, including biodiversity, circularity, human and ecological health, responsible sourcing, ethical supply chains and social and governance performance.

The assessment of Weathertex Natural Flatsheets & Weatherboards identified approximately 97% renewable/biogenic carbon-based material content, together with strong circular material pathways and reduced hazardous material intensity.

The range also holds a suite of Global GreenTag certifications and declarations, including GreenRate™ Level A, LCARate™ Platinum PLUS, GreenTag PHD™ PlatinumHEALTH™, a GreenTag EPD™ compliant with EN 15804 and a Modern Slavery Declaration™.

For architects and designers, this combination of natural material character and independently verified product information provides greater transparency when selecting materials for projects seeking stronger environmental and human health outcomes.

At The Stables, it also demonstrates how a product selected for its architectural qualities can contribute to a much broader sustainability story.

Project Details

Project: The Stables
Architect / Designer: Cadence & Co
Owner / Designer: Darren Mills, Co-founder, Cadence & Co
Product: Weathertex Natural Flatsheets & Weatherboards
Profile: Weathergroove 300 Natural with Battens
Finish: Natural — no stain
Photographer: Damian Flanagan / Lyhtau
Certified Product: Natural Flatsheets & Weatherboards — Weathertex
Manufacturer: Weathertex