House in McKenzie Hill
Rural projects often allow freedom to a house plan that the city doesn't allow. This house wraps the contour lines and looks over the land through large sliding doors and a full-length outdoor area. The house is long but broken into 3 points where it hinges and separates in the plan to crank the geometry towards the better views to the southeast and the road to the west. As such, the roofline wraps around and forms a courtyard area in the middle that is private and protected from the prevailing winds.
Interestingly, this house is also a SIP house. Made from structurally insulated panels and using Proclima membranes to the floors, walls and roof, it is highly energy efficient, rating at 9-star energy efficiency. The slab and foundations are also insulated in polystyrene insulation, similar to how houses are built in Sweden. With the triple-glazed windows and doors, and the geometry is built for maximum solar efficiency through the seasons, this house is almost passive and is cost-neutral to operate. The Structural insulated panels used were OSB faced with a PIR (polyisocyanurate) core with an R-value of 3.5 at 90mm thick. Combining these factors from the ground up means that the house performs over and above what is considered excellence in environmentally sustainable architecture and design.