Residential

Hovea Residence
Northcliffe Residence
Beverley Studio
Martin Residence
Gidgegannup Residence

Hovea Residence

The design brief called for a passive solar home to suit a hills location with a 'barn like' open plan to the living areas and low maintenance materials and finishes. Consideration had to be given to a laundry/ mudroom, an activity/ study area and plenty of under-cover deck area. An unusual request was for 2 guest bedrooms, both with an ensuite and a dormitory bedroom for the children. The overall concept is of informal hills living with plenty of practical space. The house is located in the hills area of Perth Western Australia at the bottom of a low sloping valley. There is a winter creek running through the property with an outlook to the south down to the creek. The building is basically rectangular in shape along an east / west axis. The living areas are located on the south side of the building to take advantage of the outlook sloping down to the creek. To provide northern sun into these spaces, the building was split open on the eastern end to create a semi-enclosed courtyard. This allows for winter sun into the Kitchen / Dining areas and natural light into the Main Bedroom and Entry passage. The Decked courtyard is also a semi-sheltered space to sit and catch early morning sun and provides access from the carport to the kitchen. Summer sun is controlled by a removable sail shade over this deck. Northern sun to the main living area is provided via a large roof light, with aluminium louvres over allowing low angle winter sun into this space, but blocking the high angle summer sun. Diffused light in summer and raking ceilings give this space a light and airy feeling. A large roof light with aluminium louvres over the passage to the bedrooms wing provides both natural light and allows warm winter sun to penetrate into this space. Good cross-ventilation is achieved in the living areas with the splitting open of the building plan and the remainder of the house being no more than two rooms deep. Timber decking to the south side and north/east side of the building provide outdoor living areas. The south side decking has a series of gabled roofs over providing year round protection. The construction is concrete slab on ground with cavity brick walls and some timber framed walls insulated and clad with custom orb zincalume, with a custom orb zincalume roof. Face brick and custom orb have been used for low maintenance. A heat pump water heater provides energy efficient hot water and a rainwater tank is coupled with the water mains to provide all the water needs. The majority of the timber from the original demolished house was re-milled and used in the new house, such as Jarrah beams re-milled for bedroom robe framing, skirting, architraves, and handrails. Floorboards were salvaged and re-used in the bedrooms of the new house. The kitchen and laundry cabinets are manufactured from re-cycled Oregon with re-cycled Jarrah benchtops to the kitchen. All the internal timber doors and the entry door are salvaged and stripped back and sealed with a clear finish. Click on photos to enlarge.   Return to Top

Northcliffe Residence

This house is on approximately 100 acres of mostly cleared undulating pasture surrounded by the Karri forests of south west WA, with an existing dilapidated farm house and dis-used tobacco kilns which the owners have renovated for holiday accommodation and artists gallery / studio. The owners brief was for a passive solar working farmhouse with rammed earth walls. They wanted to be owner builders. As this was to be a working farmhouse, the overall concept was of practical and informal simplicity. This approach also lent itself to rammed earth construction and owner building. A simple rectangular form on an east/west axis with a recessed courtyard became the starting point and basis of the design. As this is a passive solar home careful consideration was given to the area of glazing in relation to wall area to all elevations. In winter the sun’s rays are trapped by the glazing and penetrate deeply into the living areas, main bedroom, meals, bathroom and second bedroom to strike the tiled concrete floors and rammed earth walls which absorb this heat energy and slowly release it back into these spaces. Other passive solar design considerations included high thermal mass in the form of rammed earth walls and tiled concrete floors, bulk insulation to the roof and ceilings and good cross-ventilation. In this region cooling in summer is not a problem and with adequate shading and plenty of thermal mass to absorb unwanted heat, plus good cross-ventilation, no auxiliary cooling system was required. An important feature of the home is a large expanse of glass in the living area with high level double glazing facing north to allow deep penetration of the warming winter sun. This high level window necessitated a vaulted ceiling to the northern end of the living area, which was continued into the kitchen area. This has created a sense of space to these areas and the large volume of air has a cooling effect in summer. Another important feature of this solar home is the solar pergola over the north/east courtyard off the living area. The pergola allows low angle winter sun to penetrate into the building and provides shade from the high summer sun. The materials chosen reflect the built environment in this area. Rammed earth walls sourced from the local area, Jarrah weatherboard cladding from a small local mill and a corrugated zincalume roof reflect the vernacular architecture of this sheep and cattle-farming district. Click on photos to enlarge. Return to Top

Beverley Studio

This little building between Beverley and Brookton is a like a gem in the vast paddocks and rolling hills of this sheep and wheat growing area. Conceived around the shape and form of the Mongolian Yurt, but constructed of more heavier and permanent materials. The owner uses the building as a weekender and possibly longer stays when time permits, for activities such as gardening, art and craft, and enjoying the country environment. The segmented walls of glass and mini-orb face north to capture heat from the winter sun which is absorbed by the exposed concrete floor and rammed earth walls and slowly released back into the internal spaces. These heavy rammed earth walls also help maintain cool internal temperatures in summer by absorbing unwanted heat. The roof is capped by a roof light with openings to flush out unwanted hot air, not unlike the opening at the apex of the Mongolian Yurt. This roof light also brings natural light into the building. Materials include rammed earth, concrete floor slab, timber window and door frames, double glazing, timber internal lining, custom orb roofing, mini orb external lining and Jarrah bush poles. The rooms include an open plan living / kitchen area in the shape of a half yurt, 1 bedroom, a combined bathroom / laundry, and a composting toilet. At the rear of the building is a craft room under the verandah roof and an external trough for crafty activities. Deep verandahs to 3 sides of the building provide shade and protection. A large rainwater tank provides all the water needs. The demand on water is reduced through the use of the composting toilet. Power is generated onsite by an array of photo-voltaic panels and fed back into the grid. It is expected that the power utility will be paying the owner rather than the other way around given the small use of power and the intermittent use of the building. Click on photos to enlarge.   Return to Top