Sustainable design begins with the fundamentals. This means carefully considered floor plans that utilise space efficiently and are responsive to your climate and the surrounding site.

In today's episode, we'll explore the design of a new house on a small site located in Palm Cove in tropical North Queensland. Architects Belinda Allwood and Allison Stout from People Oriented Design share the inside story of their Big Small House project.

Today you'll learn,

• ideas to help you create a comfortable and happy home that is space efficient and affordable,
• design strategies to optimize cross ventilation, and
• creative ways to provide joy through design while working with a modest budget.

 Plus loads of other insights and practical information on materials and products from Belinda and Allison's years of experience.

Australian Architects can claim formal CPD hours by listening to these podcasts and completing an online quiz.

MORE INFORMATION

Find everything you need on the Renovation Collaborative website.

www.renovationcollaborative.com.au

• PODCAST Key points summary, timestamps and resource links
• FREE RESOURCES Transcript edited into clear Q&A.
• CPD Australian architects can find more information on CPD, and
• COURSES Eleven easy to read courses demystifying the entire home design and construction process.

KEY POINTS SUMMARY

1. Houses in hot tropical climates can be comfortable most of the year with access to good natural ventilation and shading. However, they will need a small air-conditioned retreat space designed for optimal energy efficiency for those very hot days every summer.

2. Belinda's design ideas to maximize ventilation and airflow include:

Thermal venting by allowing a large volume of cool air to enter at the lower level and as it heats, rise and exit through the upper level.

• Providing narrow floor plans with windows on opposite sides of the house to promote breeze flow straight through because breezes move best in straight lines through the house,
• Providing awnings and eaves over windows and doors so they can remain open during rain.
• Maximising door opening size in this case with sliding stacker doors,
• Using louvres and casement windows to provide 100% opening. These windows can be angled to channel breeze through the house and also remain open during rain. However, it is important to note if you're designing a room to be opened for maximum ventilation, and also closed for air conditioning with optimal energy efficiency, choose more airtight window openings and this includes casement windows, bifold doors, swing doors. Avoid louvers, sliders and double hung windows because they do not seal shut as effectively.

3. A common design requirement in cyclonic regions is the psychological need to feel safe. Timber and steel framing is very strong in cyclonic wind speeds when built to the correct engineering standards. However, masonry, and that means concrete block and brick walls make people feel safer from wind borne flying debris. Therefore, Belinda always incorporates a small cyclonic retreat space built with heavy masonry walls.

4. Ideas to create a small but efficient building floor plan and leave more site area for garden and outdoor space include:

• Thinking carefully about your design brief and the least you need to be comfortable and happy in your home.
• Look for opportunities to have multi-purpose rooms.
• Minimise hallways,
• Maximise openings around the living area to enable connection to the surrounding garden and a feeling of generosity.
• Consider a double height volume through the main living area to create a feeling of openness and generosity to offset modest ceiling heights through the rest of the house, and
• use two levels rather than one big sprawling level on ground.

5. Hot tropical climates cause materials to break down quickly if they're not durable. The humidity, high rainfall and living close to large trees is an ideal environment for mould and algae growth and deterioration of materials. Belinda chooses durable, affordable materials such as fibre cement (FC) and concrete block.

And finally,

6. Do not compromise on joy and delight in your house design. It does not have to cost more. Home design is so much more than arranging the number and size of rooms. It should focus on optimising quality of life through good natural lighting, connection to nature and the sky, and flexible spaces enabling occupants needs to change over time

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

[01:17] How did you get started in sustainable design?

[04:45] Tell us about your practice, People Oriented Design?

[10:25] What was the design brief for this project?

[11:58] Can you tell us about the tropical North Queensland climate?  

[15:10] How did you maximize natural ventilation to avoid the need for air-conditioning?

[21:06] Are there any key design decisions when designing for cyclones?

[22:41] Tell us your strategy for space efficient design and minimal footprint?

[25:00] Can you tell us the environmental reasoning behind your exterior materials?

[28:19] Can you tell us the environmental reasoning behind your interior materials?

[30:13] What advice would you give to other architects or homeowners wanting to build a sustainable, affordable, affordable home in the tropics?

IN THE NEXT EPISODE

Next week we continue exploring the fundamentals of sustainable design. We focus on floor plan design that accommodates multiple functions and can adapt to changing needs over time. Plus more ideas to improve climate responsive design.

We'll be looking at the design of a new house on a suburban lot in Samford in subtropical Brisbane. This house accommodates three different functions - a four bed family home, a self-contained office and a self-contained secondary dwelling.

I talk to environmental architect Chris Bligh, a director at Bligh Graham Architects, who'll give us the inside story on his Live Work Share House project.

RESOURCE LINKS

PEOPLE ORIENTED DESIGN WEBSITE

Project Page (images) www.peopleorienteddesign.com.au/projects-research/architecture/palm-cove-residence

Media Page (floor plans, materials, consultants and builder) https://architectureau.com/articles/big-small-house/

OTHER INFO

Bower Studio – University of Melbourne

The multi-award winning Bower Studio links indigenous community groups with postgraduate architecture students and staff from the University of Melbourne.

https://bowerstudio.msd.unimelb.edu.au/

Eddie Oribin – Cairns Architect who practiced from the 1950-1970s and used experimental and innovative forms, materials and techniques.

GET IN TOUCH

If you've got any comments or questions or there's any topic you'd like to know more about, please send me an email at [email protected].