When architect William Smart got a phone call from Judith Neilson to design her a new house, he knew it had the potential to dramatically alter the course of his career. He had already worked for the billionaire philanthropist once, overseeing the transformation of a World War II-era Rolls-Royce service depot in the inner-Sydney suburb of Chippendale into White Rabbit Gallery. But to Neilson’s mind that was “just a building”. She wanted a legacy.

Her brief for the house was remarkably succinct; just one page long. She wanted brick floors, a waxed finish on the plasterwork for the walls and the whole building had to be manually operated rather than relying on home technology. It needed to last a century and it should also be the best house in Sydney. “Then I thought that’s pretty limited so I said the best house in Australia,” says Neilson. “Then I thought, no, it should be the best house in the world.”