HOUSE SIZE

183sqm

BAL RATING ROOF

BAL 12.5

WALL MATERIALS

Cladding: 150 x 19mm wide horizontal shiplap recycled ‘Blackbutt’ timber boards.
Timber stud frame.
Internal Lining: 100 x 12.5mm recycled ‘Blackbutt’ timber boards.

WINDOW AND DOOR TYPES

Fixed Windows: Frameless double glazed. The glass was installed into the structural Blackbutt timber columns on site.
External Sliding Doors: top hung rolling, recycled timber frame, double glazed.
Openable Windows: double hung sashless vertical sliders in aluminium frame.

UNIVERSAL DESIGN FEATURES

Architectural Features:
• Wide doorways and hallways – 1100mm wide doorways, with 1200mm hallways throughout the home and office.
• One-storey living: The residence and studio have been placed on a single level, making it barrier-free.
• Level thresholds: Between indoor spaces and central deck. The decking in the Bathroom/Ensuite allows for a step-free transition into this space and the shower, preventing trip hazards.

NUMBER OF BEDROOMS

Total: 3
Main Residence: 2 Bedrooms
Bungalow: 1 Bedroom

NUMBER OF BATHROOMS

Main Residence: 1 Bathroom/Ensuite + 1 Powder for the Studio
Bungalow: 1 Ensuite

SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS

External structural members, cladding boards and decking are recycled timber, re-claimed by the supplier Australian Architectural Hardwoods from the Hampden Bridge in Wagga Wagga, built in 1895 (rather than sourcing virgin timber from old-growth forests). Milled from trees that were cut down over 125 years ago, the members have since seasoned slowly over many decades, having increased stability. This slow grown mature timber is higher in density, has improved longevity and is available in longer and straighter lengths. All the above factors predispose recycled timber to exceed or equal the stability and strength of new timber. These characteristics were required to achieve the detailing of the home and enable it to be long-lasting. The use of recycled timber allows carbon contained in the wood to be stored for the new life of the timbers use.

Furniture grade bamboo plywood was selected for all joinery and the internal walls of the Ensuite module. The fast-growing plant on earth, absorbing 2 x more carbon dioxide than trees, a strong and durable material with natural antibacterial properties. No Medium Density Fibre-board (MDF) or Melamine was used in the construction of any cabinetry in the residence.

EXTERNAL WALLS

R2.5 wall batts + 1 layer anti-glare foil

CEILING & ROOF

R3.0 ceiling batts + 1 layer anti-glare foil faced R1.3 blanket

FLOORS

R2.0 insulation

WINDOWS & DOORS

Double glazing e-vantage grey U = 2.3    SHGC = 0.32

ALL-ELECTRIC HOME?

No, some minimal mains gas use for cooking and also instantaneous gas for hot water (prior to transition to solar hot water in the coming years).

ENERGY STAR RATING

6.3 Star

RENEWABLE ENERGY USED

Average daily use of 7.5kWh from solar photovoltaic array mounted to roof.

SIZE OF PV SYSTEM

6.3 kW

SIZE OF BATTERY

None

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

The Residence + Studio achieved a 6.3 Star Energy Rating. We have a lot of glazing facing North to optimise the solar gain in Winter.

PASSIVE HEATING / COOLING

The narrow floor plate maximises the potential for the home to be passively heated by the sun, while the long South facing facade promotes cross ventilation via openable windows, which flush hot air out via the sea breezes.
Horizontal louvres on the north façade of the building have been designed (vertical spacing and depth) to block out the high Summer sun, while allowing the lower Winter sun to penetrate deep into the floor plate.

ACTIVE HEATING / COOLING

The Kitchen, Dining & Living spaces are heated primarily from the Fireplace. Zoned hydronic heating is integrated into the floor plate.
The house is primarily cooled via natural cross ventilation. Ceiling fans are also provided (no air conditioning is installed).

WATER HEATING

Hot water is provided via instantaneous gas with provision for solar hot water to be installed shortly.

ABOVE GROUND RAINWATER STORAGE

Water tanks with a minimum of 40,000 – 50,000L storage will soon be installed to collect water from the roof, enabling the garden to be watered.

WATER HARVESTING AND SAVINGS

N/A

ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHTING

Minimal lighting has been installed in the residence, with the majority being LED to lower electricity consumption.

WINDOW PROTECTION

Fixed copper louvres act as mini-eaves along the North facade, providing protection from the Summer sun. Roller blinds are also fitted to all windows and glazed sliding doors throughout.

CAR CHARGING

NA

HEALTHY HOME FEATURES

Upon arriving via the covered walkway guests reach a threshold point on which they will experience the elements as they are once again exposed to the sun, wind and rain. Too many of us live in a modified environment and leave our air-conditioned homes, only to travel via an air-conditioned car to our indoor workplace and back again. There is a deliberate intention to re-connect our living bodies to the natural world to which we originate.

Tall windows provide an abundance of natural light into the house and create unobstructed views providing a deep connection to the surrounding native landscape.

Passive solar heating controlled via copper louvres.

Natural cross ventilation is promoted via large sliding doors and vertical sliding windows positioned throughout the house.

COST ESTIMATE OF SUSTAINABLE HOME/FEATURES

Orienting the house to the North was free.
Copper louvres = $20,000 + GST installed (this would be comparable to the cost of eaves).
Photovoltaic solar panels = $12,920 + GST.

COST SAVINGS PA

Efficiently planning the layout of the home and office spaces saved considerable money, as did creating flexible multipurpose zones; which reduced the footprint of the home required.

GARDEN / OUTDOORS

The position of the residence was moved and rotated at the site many times with the aid of a licensed Surveyor, to carefully thread the design through these Messmate trees. The existing trees to be retained offer the residence much privacy, filter the wind through the foliage and provide much needed shade as the sunlight is filtered through the leaves and branches.

Consideration of the maintained health of the existing canopy trees at the site was a focus of the design and construction process. The house floats over the site, with the number of pad footings minimised, to reduce the disruption to the root system of the existing trees. The concrete slab and shallow edge beams to the Bungalow rest on the natural ground level, with sand built up to form the support. All services were (where possible) run outside the line of the tree canopy, or directly toward the tree rather than across the root system, or lain on the earth with fill over to minimise disruption. Excavation for the home was completed at the start of Spring so that rains and sunshine through this season would increase the chance of the trees on site adapting to any change to their root system. The trees were also dead-wooded and weed species removed, to provide them with the best chance to flourish.

The trees are an integral part of this site and of any of our projects. Trees and foliage provide a micro-climate through the process of transpiration. Over 50% of moisture in the atmosphere comes from the transpiration of trees and foliage. The foliage from the trees on the site not only provide a shade canopy in summer but also increase the moisture content in the air, creating a cooling effect, as water vapour is transpired from the leaves. When sitting in the shade of trees the air temperature can be 5 degrees cooler than in the sun.

Another design consideration has been to ensure that the site is permeable and all stormwater is absorbed and detained within the 1-acre lot. A swale river bed has been created on the North West side of the property, which wraps around the North West boundary to a pond and wetland area, encouraging biodiversity.

No fertilisers, weed-killer, oils and/or toxic chemicals are utilised at the property, to ensure there are no ecological impacts.

The Bluestone pavers of the central terrace float over the landscape to enable air to circulate and are supported by adjustable pedestals which sit on small round concrete pads. This surface is permeable, allowing rain to percolate through the stone and into the ground below, which provides water to the roots of the large tree overhanging.

WASTE REDUCTION PRACTICES

The proportions of the dwelling limited construction waste, with the plywood floor and ceiling sheets supplied at 1200 x 2400mm, which was a perfect fit for the design grid. The compressed sheet lining for the internal walls of the Bungalow were also supplied at a 1200mm width, which worked with this module.

Dividing the ‘Blackbutt’ cladding into 1200mm bays not only expresses a distinct architectural language but allows a reduction on material demand, by allowing the supplier and builder to utilise short lengths. The structural recycled timber members were supplied in the exact profile required, either docked to size or were pre-cut very close to the length needed. In comparison, new timber is only available in 600mm increments, so much goes to landfill.

The full height tinted charcoal glass windows have been site glazed into the timber columns, thus the windows do not sit within frames inserted into the structural frame, rather the structure is the frame. This method of construction facilitated substantial savings to the overall cost of the project, while reducing material use.

Steel has a significantly higher embodied energy than hardwood timber, with 0.5 MJ/kg of hardwood timber compared to 38MJ/kg of galvanised steel. The width of the residence was designed to allow steel beams to be removed from the design.