Neutral Bay House
By Envirotecture
Many sites have limited solar access, and are often written off as unsuitable for a low-energy high-comfort house. This should not be.
This site in Neutral Bay, like many urban sites, had significant shading to the north, but we took advantage of one ‘window’ of the north sun at ground level, and then ‘borrowed’ the rest from solar collectors on the roof.
Project Details
This house replaced a burnt-out bungalow, but we wanted the new house to reference the old one. The challenge was to design a passive solar house on a block that is orientated to the west with limited solar access (to the north), as is the case for so many urban sites. The clients wanted a house that was self-sufficient in its water and electricity uses and one that was beautifully detailed. It has a 5kWp photovoltaic system providing power to all electrical systems.
The old bungalow was deconstructed, not demolished. The face bricks are recycled from the original bungalow, and most of the common bricks were saved and reused in the ground floor structure, then rendered. All brick cavity walls are insulated. The first floor is lightweight, using a rendered foam cladding system which also provides part of the insulation. Some of the passive solar heating is captured in the concrete slab that is made accessible to the sun through the deep north-facing courtyard. The remainder of the northern aspect is shaded by a neighbouring building, and so solar hydronic heating has embedded the slab. The double glazed windows keep the heat in winter and combined with effective shading, also keeps it out in summer.
The Ritek roof, with an additional layer of Aircell insulation beneath (concealed above the raked ceilings), provides highly effective insulation (approx R6.5) whilst allowing large, unobstructed spans, opening up the living and dining space significantly which makes the most of the sweeping views of the city. The cast concrete rainwater tank captures all roof rainwater providing use for all but drinking water. The rainwater tank is beneath the rear terrace.
Custom designed guttering and fascia profiles, insulated concrete slab floor, post-less corner sliding doors and cleverly designed bulkhead LED lighting are just some of the finer details which make this house extremely comfortable, and functional, and beautiful. The owners enjoy this comfortable, beautiful home throughout all seasons.
Photography by Ute Wegmann
Professionals used in
Neutral Bay House
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About the
Professional
At Envirotecture we design beautiful, sustainable buildings that work for you, your family or your business.
With over 35 years’ experience in sustainable architecture, we can offer you a full range of building design and consulting services to deliver the best possible built outcome for your build.
Facilitate and future-proof your lifestyle with our cost-effective designs that provide stylish design solutions. See our sustainable design portfolio.
We Design for Comfort
Our designs, using state-of-the-art materials and passive design principles, will keep you cool in summer and warm in winter.
We Design for Style
You want you to enjoy spaces that inspire your soul. We will design your building so that it not only works really well, it looks great too!
We Design for Value
We can give you the biggest bang for your buck. Our sustainable designs are an affordable alternative to traditional design and will significantly reduce your long-term operating costs.
We Design for the Environment
When you chose our sustainable architectural solutions your build will have a direct beneficial impact on the environment by helping to:
- protect the ecosystem
- reduce emissions
- improve air and water quality
- conserve water
- reduce waste
- conserve and restore natural resources
We Design for the Future
Our architectural solutions will help create you a responsive, beautiful, energy efficient home that will continue to work for you and your family as your needs changes.
Sustainable design will also optimize the life cycle of your building and increase your property value.
We use the latest technology to ensure clever, creative design solutions that last the distance.
We Design for Business
You want your commercial building to provide environmental, economic and social benefits to your business.
We can design your building to:
- help reduce your operating costs
- improve workplace environment
- optimize the life cycle of your building
- increase your property value
- improve your employee’s attendance and productivity
We Believe in Giving Back
At Envirotecture we always have a pro bono project, or ‘love job’ on the go.
The current Love Job is for the Read Triplets who are wheelchair bound with muscular dystrophy
Previous love jobs include:
- Wakisa Foundation's shelter for homeless pregnant girls in Kampala, Uganda
- the Laotian School project
We Believe in Sustainable Architecture
We have over 35 years’ experience in sustainable design, and our team are all leaders in their fields.
We each bring different skill sets to the business but we all are inspired by sustainable design because we see the difference it makes on so many levels.
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