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Creswick Sustainable House
listed by Cranko

accessible showerroom clerestorey window

Eco house image: accessible showerroom clerestorey window

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polished concrete floor of the structural second floor forms the shower base of the accessible bathroom for older age and current convenience. Laundry chute disguised. Sits above the laundry where the solar control and hwc is located so always warm

New Zealand > Wellington

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Property Details
Date built:   2009
Bedrooms:   4
Bathrooms:   3
 

Property Features
Gym ,  Dining room ,  Study / office ,  Water views
 

Description

KEY DEMANDS OF THE BRIEF

Sustainability and energy efficiency were key features of this home by:

• Optimising the passive solar gain through the orientation of the house
• Exploring many methods of passive heating and cooling
• Creating a spacious home for a family of 4 and their resident visitors
• Minimising site coverage
• Designing with longevity and ‘future proofing’ of the house and economic effects in mind.
• Significantly reducing the environmental footprint of the house and so saving power and resources.
• Maintaining an interesting and different appeal without overshadowing surrounding houses and fitting into the suburban content.

KEY SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES

The most important initial design consideration was the position of the house on the site to optimise the passive solar gain from the north.

All methods utilised in this house were used to enhance that solar gain.

Room arrangement, roof layout and fall and allocation of space all act in relation to solar heat gain, heat loss and airflow.

A double height, double glazed gallery with lower and clerestory windows for passive ventilation is positioned centrally in the house with a concrete floor as a heat sink, heat from which will circulate through house when needed.

The central clerestory windows passively and actively cool the house via a stack effect and cross-ventilation during summer.

The home exceeds code requirements for insulation to the entire external shell, including sub-slab, perimeter and eave insulation.

Thermally broken, double-glazed aluminium window and doorframes throughout the house hold the heat in winter while preventing condensation on the frames, and also reducing the amount of summer heat entering through the glazing.

The exposed, polished concrete floors and central concrete block wall provide thermal mass material and heat storage.

Within the gallery there is a polished concrete bridge connecting the two wings of bedrooms. Being concrete, the bridge will also act as a partial heat sink for releasing heat into the upper floor and also minimising circulation space.

Trombe walls are incorporated into both the east facing and west facing living spaces, trapping the sun’s heat during the day and slowly and evenly releasing it at night.

Additional pipework has been installed into the hardfill below the concrete floors to dissipate excess heat generated from solar panels, and this will help maintain the floor temperature year round.

Hot water is provided through a solar water heating system. A fuel stove with wet back linked to the solar control system provides supplementary water heating and an electrical boost provides defence against Legionella. All of these features contribute to minimal cost to everyday running expenses and environment.


A slow, low speed fan built discreetly into the wall cavity is used to re-circulate air within the building envelope. Taking the warm air from the upper area of the atrium to the lower level, east facing living spaces that receive the least amount of solargain.

Acoustic ceilings are installed in the gallery and some rooms to moderate the acoustic liveliness of the spaces with the polished concrete floors.

Balustrades to the bridge have been made out of glass to not block sunshine from the concrete surfaces or obscure views from inside to the outside.

During construction, as much as possible of owners, previous de-mounted house was recycled into the new house. They reused many elements by recycling the materials; old weatherboards became skirting, sarking becomes architraves, floorboards were reused as floorboards throughout the kitchen, dining and east living room. Construction techniques were standardised where possible and sustainable timbers were used as much as possible.

Rainwater and grey water are collected into separate tanks. Rainwater is stored and connected to a tap to access in case of emergencies. The grey water is cleaned through a grey water system and then re-circulated through the garden irrigation.

 
 

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by solar 11 Oct 11, 0 replies : Last Post Sort by:
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Author Post
solar
3 posts
This forum thread has been marked as a question for other Ecobob users to answer. Data Logger 
Posted 11 Oct 11 1:02 PM
I would like to see information on data Temp loggers in this house ? and where is this Building located? There is the big debate over superinsulation of houses to solar active or passive houses. Many Solar houses in the 70s were poorly designed and not succesful , however many things were learnt. Now i still see many designs of homes schools with excessive glass that is too cold and too hot ! shame on you Archtects. Then you run to HVAC engineers to sort your energy wasting ideas out.!
 

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