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Lara Calder Architect Eco House

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Photos and Diagrams

View the photos and diagrams of this eco home

Overview

The primary inspiration for our design is the concept of temporal shelter, strongly informed by an indigenous response to the land and climate; an acknowledgement that upward of 40,000 years of occupation of the land resulted in little or no impact on the environment.

Context

This house is an intelligent response providing a suitable and sustainable building form for suburban development in western metropolitan Sydney. It offers an alternative to resourcehungry low-cost project homes.

In its intended suburban context, car provision has not been given a high priority. We believe that a major re-evaluation of private transport will need to be addressed in the future, and that metropolitan areas will come to rely on efficient public transport networks. Our design can accommodate a car (in either a covered or uncovered space), however we believe that a realistic alternative for suburbs of the future could be community carpools where cars are hired on an as-needed basis.

Self-sufficiency for water and energy is an ideal for this design however we expect that the house will have public resource infrastructure (power, gas, water) available. The wider issue of neighbourhood-scale resource management (refuse disposal, sewage treatment, water management etc) is not specifically addressed here however, we believe that housing of the future will necessarily include “end to end” solutions from individual housing through neighbourhood, suburb and city scales.

Construction

The primary structure is six timber portals. Over these portals a high-tech fabric “fly” is suspended. In each portal bay pre-fabricated units are suspended and configured to produce a flexible interior living environment. The prefabricated pods have weatherproof roof, walls and floors, however the primary weather barrier is the fabric canopy.

Materials

Materials are generally selected for their low embodied energy. The structure necessarily includes some steel and plastic-based elements, however these are minimized in favour of predominantly timber, cement and plaster products. The portals are laminated timber pinned to concrete footings. The fabric is a PVC waterproof membrane. The prefabricated units have a rigid steel outer frame with timber-frame infill panels to walls and roof. The floor is a concrete slab panel. The units are clad in painted fibre-cement with a liquid membrane roof. Window and door frames are timber. Double-glazing is used throughout the house.

Affordability & Aesthetics

The scale of the house is modest at 164 sq m, the emphasis is on efficient planning and provision of one multi-functional living space. The bedrooms are big enough to contain ancillary uses (eg a study area). In Sydney’s climate, it is expected that for much of the year, the outdoor spaces can be used as additional rooms.

Factory mass production will assist in controlling the construction cost which must fall below $3,000 per sq m. While many of the proposed building materials are modest, expenditure is applied in areas where environmental performance is critical (eg glazing, solar systems).

The aesthetic is the simple shelter overlaid with some extremely contemporary componentry juxtaposed with familiar building elements. A modernist ambition to allow form to follow function has led to a building we believe is an appropriate image for a house of the future.

Climatic Fit

Sydney is a temperate climate: Although there are four distinct seasons, much of the year conditions are suitable for human comfort. The design response for this building utilizes passive solar principles (including provision of thermal mass), good insulation (including window and door drapes), good convective ventilation and cross ventilation.

Compliance

The house is intended for a suburban western Sydney context. The scale of the dwelling is considered to be appropriate for a regularshaped 500sq m block with a larger setback from the north boundary and minimal setbacks on all other boundaries. A two storey structure is considered to be appropriate scale for suburban development and falls within current guidelines for most existing council DCP’s. Addressing the need for better land utilization as part of the development guidelines by local authorities is a separate issue. We believe the prototype we have shown here could easily be adapted for a more compact footprint and/ or a three-storey structure.

Water Management

The primary objective is to significantly reduce the demand for potable water. The design anticipates a municipal potable water supply supplemented by non-potable stored water and on-site waste water treatment. There is no proposal to treat sewage on site; it is anticipated that suburb-scale black water drainage infrastructure will exist.

Rainwater – The fabric roof is provided with a barge/guttering system to direct the water to concrete storage tanks in the ground between the portal footings. There are four tanks assigned to rainwater collection with a total capacity of approximately 30,000 litres. The stored rainwater is used for laundering and exterior uses. Overflows from the raintanks could be directed to a neighbourhood collection and reuse system for irrigating public areas, parks etc.

Wastewater – Wastewater from showers and basins is collected and treated in the fifth tank and stored for toilet flushing only. Storage is small capacity due to the requirement for fast cycling of this water. Stormwater – The primary objective for the site is to maximize permeable surface area to allow dispersal of stormwater in the most natural way; water will be managed on site with a detention swale draining to a neighbourhood stormwater management system. Any trafficable areas on site are provided using a grasspermeable paver.

Waste Management

In a suburban context, we would expect that the site would be serviced by a municipal refuse disposal and recycling programme. Waste management during construction is addressed by factory prefabrication of the elements in the proposal. It is expected that most of the above-ground components of the house can be delivered by a medium-sized truck. It is expected that several key elements (trusses, steel module frames, windows and doors etc) can be reused.In a suburban context, we would expect that the site would be serviced by a municipal refuse disposal and recycling programme. Waste management during construction is addressed by factory prefabrication of the elements in the proposal. It is expected that most of the above-ground components of the house can be delivered by a medium-sized truck. It is expected that several key elements (trusses, steel module frames, windows and doors etc) can be reused.In a suburban context, we would expect that the site would be serviced by a municipal refuse disposal and recycling programme. Waste management during construction is addressed by factory prefabrication of the elements in the proposal. It is expected that most of the above-ground components of the house can be delivered by a medium-sized truck. It is expected that several key elements (trusses, steel module frames, windows and doors etc) can be reused.

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by Anonymous 6 Jul 09, 1 replies : Last Post

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Anonymous 3184 posts	Cost Posted 6 Jul 09 2:19 PM $3000 per m. Are you dreaming? If you want to appeal to the mass's this is way outside our budgets. Another example of designers with no concept of the real world.

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luckie108 12 posts	Re: Cost Posted 10 Jul 10 1:39 PM Way to expensive. Frugal = fashionable.

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