Project: Family Home
Location: Strathalbyn
Location Challenges: This single-storey house is to be built in historic Strathalbyn requiring resolution of:
- Heritage Protection Zone requirements of strict planning guidelines
- Maintaining minimum boundary set-back distances within a small corner allotment
Design Aspects: The design solution provides a family house having large formal and informal living spaces directly linked to a private alfresco area and providing separation of living and sleeping areas all within a compact footprint. Living areas are located with north and east aspects, daylight penetration and verandahs shading the glass. Skylights in internal service rooms minimise the need to use lights. Sustainable features incorporated into the design include:
- Waffle-pod concrete footing and floor construction to minimise excavation spoil and to provide thermal mass
- Well-insulated building envelope with ventilated roof space
- Low embodied-energy (e.g. clay bricks) and long-life, low maintenance (e.g. prefinished steel roofing) materials
- Plantation-sourced timber framing for roof and walls
- High ceilings and sweep fans to assist internal temperature control and comfort
- Double-hung windows located to promote cross-ventilation and warm air venting
- High-efficiency vacuum-tube solar hot water system
- 1.8Kwh solar array with inverter and 2-way meter mounted on the garage roof which is designed for optimum orientation and angle
- 44Kl rainwater storage capacity to minimise the use of town water supply.
Specialist Expertise: EnvironArc Design’s Green Building Council of Australia accredited architects have assisted in development of the design. Additional assistance has been sought for advice from:
- In-house ABSA design technician – 7.9 Green Star rating achieved
- Council’s heritage architect to meet heritage design guidelines
- Specialist engineers in making appropriate solar-panel selections.
