The site for the Spring Hill "Enviro-Cottage" was selected because of its central location providing great public transport options. It also came with a council approved development plan for lifting and adding living space under and to the rear. So there was minimal requirement for further architectural input, or was there?
There was something about adding living spaces to the south-west that just didn't feel right. The Spring Hill "Enviro-Cottage" Project therefore engaged the architectural services of award-winning architect Brian Steendyk of Steendyk Pty Ltd to review the approved plans and amend them to meet the Project's objectives.
The design brief to Steendyk was partly traditional - the must haves, the nice to haves, the numbers of bedrooms, living and car space requirements etc. But the "Enviro-Cottage" design brief took a different turn to include environmentally sustainable design criteria such as employing passive solar design principles while still delivering a stunning home design. Understanding design to the "triple bottom line" was also imperative, to ensure the outcomes are socially, environmentally and economically sustainable.
The brief to Steendyk therefore included elements such as:
- Minimising the building's impact on the environment through reduced use of energy, water and non-renewable resources
- Maximising use and control of the natural environment to minimise the capital and operating costs and scale of overlaid systems e.g. lighting, cooling, heating, water etc
- Maximise advantages provided by careful use of the available northern aspect, ensuring heat control in summer and maintaining warmth in winter (enhance effect with efficient insulation design)
- Maximising capture and storage of water for re-use in the house and garden
- Cater for solar hot water and a photovoltaic power system
- Ensuring flexibility of design elements to meet changing future needs e.g. bedroom today, office tomorrow
- Ensuring materials and finishes are environmentally preferred and low in harmful toxins or allergens
- Design for a 100+ year building lifespan
From there Steendyk reviewed the approved plans and put their passion for and experience in sustainable design to work. The previously approved design was turned on its head. Instead of raising and building on to the south-west, Steendyk proposed a "cut and separate" model. This involved separating the building in the middle to create two separate living spaces broken by a courtyard or 'breezeway' (which could accommodate 20-30,000 litres of underground water storage). This opened up the favourable north-east aspect to the new living areas and offered options to introduce stunning architectural features such as perforated metal screening to control light, heat and privacy and external louvre systems to permit winter sun in while keeping summer heat out.
"A prime objective of the design is to minimise building depth to allow winter warmth in and encourage natural ventilation right through the living spaces. Separating the building into two pavillions maximises this effect and adds fantastic flexibility in how the spaces can be used in future as resident needs change" says Steendyk.
Design is an iterative process and the "Enviro-Cottage" process continues as the detail emerges and inevitable compromises are carefully considered against the triple bottom line sustainability criteria.
You can view "Enviro-Cottage" design drawings at www.envirocottage.com.au.
