- have a modestly sized three bedroom house that is in harmony with its bushland location
- be self-sufficient for power, water and waste treatment
- have an internal environment that has a comfortable temperature and is well ventilated all year without the need for air conditioning
- minimise the risk from bushfires
- be as environmentally responsible as we can in all aspects of the design and construction of the house.
In the design of the house the application of these principles has resulted in the following design decisions:
- the internal temperature of the house will be controlled using the principles of passive thermal design. This has resulted in the north facade of the house being almost fully glazed. The thermal mass is provided by a concrete floor and reverse brick veneer walls. A wood burner will also be installed that will be used to provide direct heat into the lounge and fan forced warm air in the main bedrooms
- rainwater will be harvested from the roof and stored in a 30,000 litre water tank for use as potable water
- power will be generated from a grid connect solar PV system on the roof
- hot water will be generated using solar panels (with gas booster)
- horizontal shading will be provided to windows on the east and north sides of the house
- openable windows on the east and west sides of the house for cross ventilation
- the west side of house is partly cut into the slope of the site
- the windows and sliding doors are double glazed with a thermal performance of U=1.9W/m2K and comply with category 3 requirements for bushfire protection (toughened glass and metal fly-screens)
- all waste water will be treated on site using a domestic aerated wastewater treatment uint and the treated effluent dispersed using an underground irrigation system
- all external materials on the house are non-combustible (concrete, steel or glass).
The house is arranged around a central 2m wide hallway, with east facing bedrooms and study, north facing living, dining and kitchen and west facing laundry, bathrooms and guest bedroom, which are arranged around a small courtyard.
The roof consists of two parts; a folded-pitched roof over the eastern and northern parts of the building and a lower flat roof over the western part of the building and the garage. The folded-pitched roof is inverted to channel rainwater into three downpipes, that run to slimline water-tanks that occupy the space under a cantilevered balcony that runs along the east side of the building, where the levels drop away due to the fall of the site. Parts of these roofs are angled to the north and will support the solar hot-water panels and photovoltaic panels, so that they are positioned to maximise their exposure to the sun. The roof over the living room continues the ‘folded’ language and is pitched-up in the northeast corner of the building in response to the views and to draw natural light deep into the living room. The lower, flat roof sits over the rear ‘service’ areas of the house, and the change in height between the two roofs provides space for clerestory glazing to one side of the hallway/gallery to provide natural light into the hallway.
The architect for the house is Caroline Pidcock (http://www.pidcock.com.au/)
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| South-east elevation |
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| East elevation |
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| North-east elevation |
