The Woodlands Residence started as a sloped site with established trees and a dated pre-existing home. Our clients’ desire for a larger and more suitable family home led to the decision to demolish the existing home and build a new one.. The new home’s entrance leads to an open plan living, kitchen with a walk-in-pantry, and dining area configured in an L-shape around an alfresco area. Also on the ground floor is a playroom, study, bedroom, bathroom, and laundry/mudroom. The first floor contains the master bedroom with a walk-in-robe and ensuite, a secondary bedroom and a bathroom. A double garage holds a large storage area for bikes, paddleboards and surfboards The facade is a combination of vertical Colorbond cladding, horizontal white fibre cement weatherboards, vertical James Hardie cladding in both shale grey and natural white, and matt black brickwork on the ground floor. The windows are covered with a decorative perforated aluminium screen.
Clients Priorities
Our clients wanted to live in a generous space with plenty of privacy and room for entertaining. A large rear garden with lawn, vegetable gardens and a variety of plants was key to enjoying the space with a young family.
Our clients were keen to maximise the view of the natural woodlands to the immediate west of the site. At the same time, privacy and security to their rear outdoor living space was paramount.
They also wanted sunlight to reach all the daytime living spaces and for easy vision throughout the house and into the rear courtyard for supervising children. . This led to a wrapped design that protects the outdoor living areas from the street, allowing for plenty of light and carefully enables supervision. An exciting entertaining area was necessary, with a seamless transition from the dining to alfresco and kitchen.
Sustainable Features
Passive sustainability through design was a key focus for our clients. Lightweight and highly insulated timber walls and suspended first floor and roof structure all enabled quick, efficient construction with minimal waste.
The ground floor slab and a large internal feature masonry wall are designed to act as a thermal mass energy bank to help maintain a comfortable indoor environment with minimal energy input. All exposed windows have awnings to protect from hot summer sun and the majority of windows are north facing. Operable louvres to the outdoor living area allow for daily and seasonal concealment and exposure to suit the conditions at hand and allow for year-round use.
Operable louvres to the outdoor living area allow for daily and seasonal concealment and exposure to suit the conditions at hand and allow for year-round use
A solar system with potential battery integration will allow for electric cars. An electric-powered subfloor hydronic heating system and heat pump hot water unit both use this solar system. A water collection system is also in place to catch and store rainwater for use.
