Location: Yallingup, Western Australia
Country: Australia
Awards: 2008 WA Building Designers Association Award in Category 2 Residential building 251 square metres to 350 square metres.
Modest yet strikingly sculptural, Yallingup house in Western Australia has been designed as an energy efficient and lightweight home that sits perfectly on the sloping land on which it is built.
The house, designed by Terry Hodges of West Coast Designs, was awarded the 2008 WA Building Designers Association Award in Category 2 Residential building 251 square metres to 350 square metres.
The designer's brief was to create a striking house that left a minimal carbon footprint. Terry explains: "It was decided at the outset to minimalise the building's footprint by using a sealed and insulated steel subfloor and predominantly lightweight construction consisting of walling and roofing made from COLORBOND® steel.
"Also, the building incorporates a passive solar design principle that significantly reduces the building's carbon footprint by infiltrating the winter sun and repelling the summer sun."
Another consideration of the design was the difficulty of the site that involved a 2.2 hectare block on a 1 in 8 gradient fall to the north to allow stunning north-easterly views to the waters of Geographe Bay. This again required lightweight materials to be specified and a design that would use glazing and height to dissolve the barrier between inside and outside.
The home has been designed with a unique U shape floor plan that includes a main pavilion that comprises the master bedroom, living space, kitchen and roof deck. The west wing contains the garage, service court and laundry and the east wing features guestrooms and a home office. Each pavilion features a roof made from COLORBOND® steel that distinguishes the three distinct zones within the house.
Roofing and wall cladding made from COLORBOND® steel was used in the colours Shale Grey® and Woodland Grey®, creating sharp lines that contrast the vibrant colour scheme of the surrounding Jarrah and Redgum trees and a ground cover of colourful wildflowers. Steel was also chosen for the project due to the minimal maintenance required and bushfire prone surroundings.
