A lesson in low-impact family living - Warrandyte
The family home of a passive house builder, our design supports our client’s ambition to showcase the benefits and beauty of low-impact living.
Located in tranquil Warrandyte on the outskirts of Melbourne, the project involves upgrades to the existing house with the addition of new kitchen, living, dining and utilities spaces.
A holistic and highly detailed approach is taken to the architecture, interiors and landscape, creating a cohesive relationship between old and new.
Challenged by a steep site, the design links old and new by a single step, with the extension elevated from the existing house. Roof lines marry ridge lines, helping to further blend old and new. The warmth of the timber cladding sits seamlessly with the surrounding bush and new landscaping, complementing the metal and concrete materials.
The multi-functional extension is the hero of the project, a light-filled flexible area designed to reduce the overall building footprint and preserve the existing garden size. Ensuring year-round usability, the space easily converts from a dining room to alfresco living via a striking double-glazed tilt door.
The project champions passive design principles throughout, including a fully-insulated slab and high performance Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) to the extension, uPVC windows and doors, internal fly screens and a decentralised ventilation systems for optimum air flow.
Committed to helping build more high performance, energy efficient homes, our client used this project not only as an example of what is achievable, but for his staff to learn and apply passive house techniques on site.
alteration and addition
low-impact design
flexibly family living
Passive House principles
efficient spatial planning
indoor-outdoor connection