Sanctuary magazine issue 12 - Keeping It Simple - Magnetic Island, QLD green home profile

SANCTUARY40

hoUSe pRofile mAgNeTiC iSlANd

SANCTUARY 41


The owners of this subtropical Queensland house find that living in and with the environment is a lot better than fighting against it.

Keeping it Simple

Words Francene ridley PhotograPhy robin Gauld

L“living with” is the first and most important step toward sustainability. Troppo’s primary aim is to produce back-to-basics living that encourages the occupants to respond to the site and climate. To be uncomfortable occasionally, in order to appreciate what is on offer. a smaller house accomplishes this by providing just enough – or perhaps not quite enough – space and encouraging occupants to venture out to meet their spatial needs.

SANCTUARY42


SANCTUARY 43


When it comes to comfortable living in the troPics, it’s common practice to build homes that do everything to keep the outside out. We want to fight the heat, shut out the creepy crawlies and seal off from the rain. Not so for architect Zammi Rohan’s clients. They live on Magnetic Island, where there’s five months of sultry weather, and have no air-conditioning. In fact this couple, originally from New Zealand, open up their house in the morning and leave it that way until bedtime. They have been in the house since December last year and find this way of living a delight. “We don’t live in a single-unit air-conditioned box where you can avoid relating to the outside environment almost totally,” says one of the clients. “Sometimes visitors ask how we cope with insects at night but this is because they haven’t noticed that the louvres are all screened.” Like the insect screens, there’s a lot about this house you might not notice initially. Closer inspection, however, reveals a home – which incidentally won North Queensland House of the Year in the Australian Institute of Architects awards and more recently a State Architecture Award – built specifically for the site and climate, with minimal impact on the natural landscape. For example, you wouldn’t realise it, but the house was designed purposely for single-handed construction – that is, just one man put the building together. That same builder used leftover materials to fashion

furniture for the home: a king-size bed, outdoor table and workbench. While some prefabrication was done by the builder on the mainland, a “back-to-basics” design philosophy also helped make single-handed construction possible. “I think it’s important that we do not create any more building than we actually need,” Zammi says. “This house consists of only 107sqm of enclosed area, which is very compact for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home. However we have provided almost 90sqm of deck areas for outdoor living. These decks are less expensive and need fewer resources to construct. “We are fortunate in the tropics that we can use our outdoor areas for the majority of the year, and by using these outdoor areas we require less actual building to provide our habitable spaces.” The internal space consists of three pavilions connected via deck pathways. The unimpeded breezeways, helped by fans in the hot weather, eliminate the need for air-conditioning. With all this outdoor area and the vagaries of a tropical climate, it’s easy to assume maintenance is an issue, but carefully chosen materials, combined with passive design strategies, does away with the stress. “The exposed structure is made from galvanised steel, the roof and majority of wall claddings are pre-finished custom orb and all painted surfaces are protected by deep eaves to avoid deterioration from the sun and rain,” Zammi says.

“The house was designed purposely for single-handed construction – that is, just one man put the building together.”

DThe roof climbs toward the south and reaches out to the east and the west. its shade (combined with cross ventilation) helps keep the house comfortable in the hotter months, and the open aspect to the north does the same in the winter.

Gbreezway louvres, moveable wall sections and even porous furniture facilitate through- ventilation. Says the homeowner: “The cane sofas [from casablanca cane, Sydney] are great, because they are so light you see through them and they can be carried inside and out. They also serve as overflow beds!”

SANCTUARY44


SANCTUARY 45


GSet on over three and a half hectares of subtropical bushland, the house is very modest in scale, with a mere 107sqm of internal space (by comparison, the average new house in the suburbs is 240sqm). allied to the internal spaces is 88sqm of covered breezeways and decking, facilitating an inside-outside lifestyle perfectly suited to the north Queensland climate.

“All materials have been selected for their lightweight properties. The large sheet materials used for the roofing and cladding are readily available and are quick and easy to install. If used appropriately these materials can also help to strengthen and brace the house. Large sheets mean minimal joints, and this provides good protection from water ingress, particularly as horizontal rain is not uncommon.” Another bonus of having a steel frame connected almost entirely with bolts, rather than welding, is that the house can be easily disassembled or an entire pavilion relocated. For the clients, there is aesthetic value in being able to see how their home has been put together. “Every day we appreciate the slim and tall, yet strong, design of the frame, the brilliant detailing of the roofs and windows and how, from any place in the house, you can see how it has been made.” Of course, the detailing in the roofs and windows isn’t just for interest’s sake, but it so happens beauty is born from their pragmatic purposes. “The roofs are very much a direct response to the climate and site,” Zammi explains. “On the low-set pavilions the low side of the roof is along the north to protect from the sun throughout the day. Also, the prevailing weather is typically from this direction so the low roofline along this facade provides good protection to doors and windows. On the south facade, direct sunlight is not a problem so the roof rises up, giving us a good opportunity to provide cross ventilation. “Large roof overhangs are on all sides of the pavilions. This allows us to include some high-level windows up under the eaves where it is fully shaded but also lets generous amounts of natural light into all internal areas throughout the day.” Zammi’s clients have embraced his design objective, to “live with” their environment rather than fight against it, and they are reaping the rewards.

“This house consists of only 107sqm of enclosed area, however we have provided almost 100sqm of deck areas for outdoor living. Decks are less expensive and need fewer resources to construct.”

SANCTUARY46


SANCTUARY 47


02

01

0304

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

gRoUNd flooR plAN01 lap Pool02 Guest bedroom03 bathroom04 courtyard05 deck06 dining room07 Kitchen08 living room09 ensuite10 Study11 Master bedroom

LThe partly shaded pool, right up close to the house, cools the living spaces around it. in winter it is solar heated, for year-round swimming.

GMuch of what goes on in the house occurs between and around the three small buildings, not in them. The design is about creating “more edge and less middle”, as well as creating oppor- tunities to interact with the natural environment – including its wildlife.

SANCTUARY48


sustainable features

Renewable energy

– 3kW of Kyocera polycrystalline photovoltaic panels,

grid connected. Cost (incl. installation): $28,000

www.kyocerasolar.com.au

– Sunny Boy 2500W SMA invertor

Water saving

– Rainwater returned to aquifer

Passive heating & cooling

– Breezway design – three pavilions connected via

outdoor breezeways – eliminates the need for

air-conditioning. 1.8m and 1.2m roof overhangs

around all three pavilions

– Careful alignment of the house to the north and

retention of trees

– Aircell insulation www.air-cell.com.au

– Central deck sail in white Ferrari vinyl

(www.ferrari-industry.com) with rain-release

spout. By C. Ede of Townsville

– Lap pool. From the architect: “We feel that a pool,

closely integrated into the house design, contributes

to passive cooling. While often regarded as a luxury, a

partly shaded pool, directly adjacent to the house,

cools both the inhabitants and the living spaces

around it, and in winter, of course, can be

solar-heated.”

Active heating & cooling

Airace stainless steel ceiling fans throughout

Windows & glazing

– Breezway glass and timber louvres throughout

www.breezway.com.au

– Custom-made cyclone resistant sliding walls in 6mm

toughened fixed glass and painted sheet.

Lighting

– Compact fluorescents and LEDs. 9W CFL bulbs and

1W LEDs from Crompton Lighting

www.crompton.com.au

Building materials

– Galvanised steel structure with Colorbond cladding

and roofing, Fibre cement sheet cladding, timber

wall framing

– Spotted gum timber batten screens, floors and decks

– Nuts and bolts steel-frame architecture will facilitate

eventual recycling

Other ESD features

– Ramp approach to house, and all living areas above

ground, to minimise disturbance to site and trees

– Samsung LED TV Series 6 32 inch (they bought it

after it was reviewed in ReNew 109, p84)

– Smeg 29L Microwave Convection/Grill Oven

SA985-2CX (RRP $690)

From the homeowner: “The microwave is Smeg and it

is the short time that you use the microwave that is so

energy-efficient – especially given our electricity comes

from our solar array. It is a combi microwave - quite

brilliant, actually. If you take the time to learn you can

do anything in it. And fast.”

DesignerTroppo Architects—Websitewww.troppoarchitects.com.au —BuilderFrank Butterworth—Project typeNew building—Project location Magnetic Island, QLD—Size107sqm internal, 43 sqm undercroft, 88 sqm deck. Land area: 36,644sqm

magnetic island Residence

Documents

Sanctuary magazine issue 12 - Keeping It Simple - Magnetic Island, QLD green home profile