8/7/2019 Sanctuary magazine issue 14 - Pavilion Living - Eumundi, QLD green home profile
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SANCTUARY58
pavilionlivingThiS No-fRillS home iN The SUNShiNe CoAST
hiNTeRlANd mAkeS The moST of CooliNg
bReezeS, SiTTiNg high oveR A dAm
Words Fncn ly
photography pu ccul ppy
G
he home sits high over a
dam. ts safe from oodig
de to the high eevatio of
the vae.
8/7/2019 Sanctuary magazine issue 14 - Pavilion Living - Eumundi, QLD green home profile
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SANCTUARY60
hoUSe pRofile RegioNAl qUeeNSlANd hoUSe pRofile
In the country or on the coast,
architect Matt Cooper would use the same
tenet to guide the design of any new home:
orientation, orientation, orientation.
In our experience, orientation is the most
important element to consider in sustainable
design it has the largest impact, says Matt,
of firm Aspect Architecture, based in Brisbane
and Kingscliff on the New South Wales north
coast. The plan, 3D form, ceiling heights and
the like can all then be designed to exploit and
add to the benefits of correct orientation.
After years of hunting for just the right site,
the client came upon a perfect patch outside
Eumundi, a township in the Sunshine Coast
hinterland. Its 25ha of rural heaven.
This particular site is in a beautiful piece
of country and the dam, which is continually
flushed by a small creek, was an added
attraction, says Matt, who homed in on the
dams potential for water views and natural air-
conditioning.
The house is sited over the edge of the
dam so when the wind passes across the water,
it cools as it goes and then passes through the
house as cool air.
And if youre shuddering to think of rising
flood waters, Matt holds steadfastly to the
decision to place the house so close to the dam.
The dam is continually overflowing as
small creeks feed into it on the high side. The
site is still quite high in the landscape, although
this house is built in a valley within that
immediate landscape. Although the ground
might get a bit boggy, the water always gets
away. There was no need to do anything extra
to mitigate flooding.
On this land, Matt decided upon a simple
pavilion structure, with the living area at the
centre and a bedroom on either side.
The client was clear that two bedrooms
would be enough for their needs, Matt saysof the basic floor plan for inhabitants that
may include, in various combinations at any
one time, two adults, two children and sundry
guests.
Matt says the pavilion idea allows the house
to function well both environmentally and
practically.
The separation of the building mass
encourages cross-flow ventilation through the
building, gives great opportunities for natural
light, and allows us to control the sun to each
space more accurately. Functionally, it allows
each space its own privacy for a modestly-
sized home, you never feel like you are on top
of each other.
Its a house with a simple floor plan, put
together with no-frills building methods and
materials, which means once the building
floor platform was up, there was very little
disturbance to the site during construction.
All the natural overland water flow paths
were maintained, which was very important as
they feed into the dam with its great fauna: fish,
turtles, birds, Matt points out.
For materials, Matt chose cladding and
flooring that would respect the rural sett ing.
He says the exterior zincalume wall cladding
is a long-lasting, basic building material which
aesthetically fits in well with the bush. Matt
adds that the environmental benefit of one
cladding over another when considering the
overall project is marginal.
The bigger impact items are orientation
and access to sun, breeze and natural light. For
this house, the northeast orientation of t he
main building axis allows excellent solar access
during the morning and winter periods while
the ensuites of the sleeping pavilions act as a
buffer from the western sun.
Some heating help is required in winter,
and thats where the slow combustion wood
stove becomes invaluable.
The client wanted something that would
provide both atmosphere and the amount of
heat needed for the home, Matt says. The
overall property is very large, so a fire of this
size will be fed with timber already available
from fallen branches around the property or
trees that are knocked down by storms. On thisproperty there will be no need to ever cut down
a tree to fuel the fire.
The house is sited over
the edge of the dam so
when the wind passes
across the water, it
cools as it goes and
then passes through
the house as cool air.
D
he oivig,
rooms
thro
aviio
o fro
L
he aviio st
eorages ro
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SANCTUARY62
hoUSe pRofile RegioNAl qUeeNSlANd hoUSe pRofile
sustaInable Features
Water saving
Grohe five star water saving taps throughou
www.grohe.com
10,000L water tank supplies all water for ho
Passive heating & cooling
Building orientation and articulation of buil
form allows maximum cross flow ventilation
maximum solar admittance during winter, w
minimising solar access during summer
Location of windows throughout the three p
provides ample natural light throughout the
R2.5 ceiling insulation, R1.5 bulk insulation t
external walls
Active heating & cooling
Wood stove
Ceiling fans to bedrooms and living areas
Windows & glazing
Aluminium framed, grey tint glazing
www.gjames.com.au
Lighting
Low impact lighting
Building materials
Zincalume metal roof
Recycled timber weatherboards
Zincalume metal wall cladding
Spotted gum tongue and groove flooring
Hoop pine plywood used in cabinets
Other ESD features
Envirocycle sewer treatment
www.envirocycle.com.au
desIgner
Aspect Architecture
WebsIte
www.aspectarch.com
buIlder
N & N Webster Builders
project type
New building
project locatIon
Eumundi,Sunshine Coast, QLD
sIze
house 143 sqm, excluding decks;
land 25 hectares
eUmUNdi ReSideNCe
J
roia homes eed to ath
ever breeze. he ivig areas
i this home oe omete,
makig the most of its
oatio over the dam.
G
he hose has 10,000 itres of
raiwater storage, sig
a its water eeds.
gRoUNd flooR plAN
1 arage
2 tr ek
3 Kithe
4 livig oom
5 iig oom
6 tdoor ek
7 Bedroom
8 site
9 Bedroom
10 Bathroom
11 am
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