Badminton Sports Stadium

First drawings of a warehouse style building in an industrial area for a proposed badminton stadium. 

Bringer of New Life to the old.

This project is an upper floor addition build over the front of the existing home and it gives us the opportunity to give the home a serious uplift and a very new face.  We are going to transform the home from this tired 1980's style home 

to a graciously updated grand estate looking home.

Retirement self build in a Country town

This was an enjoyable project for retirees looking to self build on a now cleared lot of once an old framed country house caught in a large bush fire that devastated much of the town.  As sad is the story, as joyful is the rebirth of new life for the town and the property.

The lot falls away sharply from the road and overlooks the falling valley towards the main road with scattered surviving housing.  Maybe one day the large lot will be developed but for now it is small growth bush growing back after the fire and makes a lovely outlook for the rear facing living area and large balcony.
The front of the house facing the street will appear to be a single storey house.
The side of the house faces north and had a large open area within the lot for the creation of a garden space.

The side of the 

The owner had decided that Bondor panels were the go and he was wanting to build his house up at road level and infil underneath with a large open garage and workshop area and even parking for a caravan or other vehicles.  So the home was designed rather strictly to the standard width bondor panels and windows positioned to suit.  Even though the panels will disappear under a rendered finish, working to the panel system will make it easier for the client in construction.

Bondor panels can go the double storey but they do need some help in structural support for the suspended floor which is on a steel frame on posts, the posts disappearing into the panelling.

Bondor panels have a high insulation value and will be used for the walls and roof.
The walls will have an additional applied finish and painted.  The roof panels are left in their natural state with a colorbond finish.  There are no ceilings to be added. The roof panels are raking and will be seen underneath as a raking ceiling.
The ground floor for the garage/workshop level is a poured concrete slab. The overhead steal suspended floor joists will be all exposed but if the undercroft became more formal they could easily be lined underneath for a uniform ceiling finish.
The upper floor is Supafloor which is a thicker 53mm panel designed to deaden noise from shoes up above which is a bit of a problem with framed floors lined with structural flooring.  

Dream by the Beach pt 2

So after attempting to renovate the existing property involving both extensive demolition of the front living section and retention and reuse of the existing bedroom double storey wing at the rear, with the evolving client brief now made it obvious that working with the existing multiple levels on sand hill was not going to provide the best outcome and the brief changed to demolition of all house, retaining only the rear garage, and a brand new double storey build.

It was a fresh start and the ease to be able to have the freedom to do what was needed for the residence was very noticeable. No longer having to deal with what you have

So on we go to explore a new idea, to take advantage of the wide beach outlook from a wonderfully elevated position, to raise the front yard to create a larger open deck and ground area, to allow for gated access to the rear garage.

Here was my first attempt, which still contained strong elements of my earlier renovation project because the front was a demolish and rebuild anyway, the outlook, orientation was the same so roughly the same layout inside was still very relevant but it was a much cleaner and consistent package.

Let's see how it would look with a pitched roof, bit of a Hamptons approach.

Here the simple skillion idea allows for a roughly north (east) facing roof for a series of solar panels for power generation yet to be hidden from the street view.

We eventually decided upon dropping the lovely dramatic side skillion roof and just go with one overall large skillion roof to the rear and to raise the whole of the front yard up to a usable outdoor level and to include a blade wall that would shield the view to the south west to hide the not so aesthetic recent additions to the house next door and to shelter the exposed outdoor area along the front from the harsher southern heavier wind and rains.
Let's make the side access carport a bit more formal and secure.

Bringing the whole house to the one level and building it all square to itself does simplify the layout but we still have to contend with the steep changing levels of the sandhill.

----------------------------------------

And so we wait, to see whether and where this project will progress to. It's been an exciting but tough journey for Grandesign because the site is has presented very challenging questions and the brief has had to change in big ways to adapt to the clients changing needs.

Two Storey home in the burbs.

The purchase of an existing family home (for demolition) on a corner lot allows for a subdivision and the sale of a spare lot to help finance the build of a new double storey family home positioned to take best advantage of it's northern side.  The existing high fence line is kept allowing full privacy of the living courtyard with a pool in the front yard making full private use of the large intruding front setbacks instead of wasting it in front garden.  This brings all our outdoor open space together in a larger usable area.  The rear of the building has minimum setbacks, enough for a concealed drying area.

Clients wanted the entry to one street whilst the garage is accessed from the side street. The porch walk forms the division between public accessible space to the front door and the corner gardens, fenced off from the private spaces.

The look is regal, quiet but confident understatement. The client has a home office that overlooks the front garden and entry. The house faces the east so smaller windows that are less vulnerable to sun penetration when you don't want it and a pergola for deciduous planting to protect a larger living room window all create a sense of privacy whilst ensuring a better energy use and comfort outcome for the home.

Inside the home opens up to large spaces with living areas on the northern side with large windows to capture winter sun and allow deep entry into the home. 

• Large lounge, with additional large theatre room upstairs overlooking the pool
• Large dining area with kitchen having a hidden scullery and pantry area overlooking the pool
• Master suite with large WIR and ensuite
• 2 large bedrooms with their own bathroom and toilet
• Additional guest suite and study downstairs.
• Alfresco area with balcony above overlooking the pool
• Laundry with large linen cupboards
• Double garage

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

Unfortunately the quality of my images has been negatively affected by Autodesk making changes to their rendering system and not for the better.  They've done if a number of times without really improving their product. I am quite distressed by it.  However it has made me finally give up on doing everything in the one package and experiment with other solutions.

In exploring solutions that I hope to be a part of future offerings for Grandesign projects I created these walkthroughs of this home but they are very amateur and poor quality.  I have much to learn.  Walk around and inside  Walk around outside  

This video is a fixed camera showing how the sun does not enter the home in summer, keeping the heat out, but in winter, the sun floods the home during the day bringing in lots of warmth and light.  This is a premium intention in my design philosophy, to create a comfortable home that reduces the need for heating and cooling because the correct orientation and placement of windows ensures the environment works for and with you, even inside the house.  Sun Study


And the home on it's way with a whole new colour scheme.

Additional Room for existing double storey home.

 

The existing home required some internal additions of rooms to including a new master suite and two new bedrooms for upstairs and a rendering of the existing brick walls for a new painted facade to give it a fresh face.

Sweet simple two storey home overlooking the forest.

This home on a new subdivision on the edge of a country town very well known as a holiday tourist destination overlooks national forest.  The client brief required separate access to a self contained master suite which may be used as a bed and breakfast during the tourist season but the clients will enjoy the main view with their living area upstairs in an open living dining kitchen space with vaulted ceilings and a balcony.
The upstairs space also exists to the north side to a landing and stairs down to the backyard and a second alfresco area which adjoins the guest suite.

Windows on the north side with an eave will allow winter penetration of sun whilst excluding summer sun however the large window to the east will be an issue.  Beautiful for sun rises over the forest but may need some thick curtains to prevent overheating the home early on a summer day.
This compromise is often necessary when a fantastic outlook is not 'to the north' and you want more glass to a less than ideal 

Another two bedrooms on the ground floor share a bathroom.
There is a garage for one car, space behind for another vehicle and a parking space in front of the garage and to the side to allow a little extra parking.

Child Care Facility

We attempted a renovation on the original timber framed residence around 100 years old but the costs were so high it was worth considering a new build but the clients were keen on recreating something of the old world charm of Australia's settlement past. 

So together we have created a new building that maximizes the available space, satisfies requirements for staff and customer parking, outdoor play areas including a large wide verandah and is of a much larger building with generous spaces within for office admin use, a large kitchen and eating area and two large separate play areas to work for two age groups.  High ceilings, large stacking doors leading from the play areas out to the outdoor play areas make the overall suitability for it's customized use plus the advantages of a high performance energy efficient building make the decision a sound one.  A new build also brings a much reduced ongoing maintenance bill as methodology and materials perform at a much higher standard.  Wall and ceiling insulation reduce heating and cooling bills, modern electrical installation and low power and long lasting LED lighting just add to the overall performance.

The original old home with a small amount of renovation was the original plan however costs to bring it up to current code requirements for a commercial building with energy certification and needs as a childcare facility proved too costly.

Dream by the beach

This project has still not reach a conclusion... unless it has.

An elevated lot with sweeping views across a park to the ocean with an existing awkward collection of different style buildings at different levels presented a significant design challenge.  Should it be demolished and leveled? Should parts of it be retained and engulfed in a new build?

Or should we wipe clean and start again?

The whole property front to back is a sand hill rising from 8 metres at the street to 11.74 at the house and then falling again to 6.5m at the back.  The existing house itself steps down from it's 11.74 front section to 11.21 bedroom wing and then down to 9.21 garage level.

Bit exaggerated. Those hills in the middle were a pick up of gutters to the existing house but you get the idea of the slope.

The client wanted to engage elements of energy efficient design and I have always practiced good principles of Passive Solar Design. The street front facing the ocean was south east, not ideal for lots of glass.  North was at roughly a 45 degree angle to the rear, overlooking the neighbour. Not where you want lots of glass.
PSD engages the orientation of the building, glass and eave to north, minimal protected glass elsewhere.  Here we could have to engage construction techniques to create a more strictly controlled atmosphere within the home including sealing the building.  Harder with renovating an existing building but not impossible.

One good thing was that extensive solar panels would be at the rear of the roof shapes.

The lot was narrow for a large home where you want maximum windows to the ocean view plus access down the side to the rear garage.

The client wanted to incorporate features for possible future wheel chair access which does have an impact in designing a house on a sand hill.

Our first attempt was to demolish the front section, retaining the now unapprovable higher floor level and mesh in with the rear bedroom wing section that never matched the front section anyway and creating a connection to the rear garage

We dropped the garage and settled for a smaller deck

My first idea was a new garage at the front that we could roof as an entertaining open deck.

The existing front house was not at the same angle as the bedroom wing, being off by only around 12 degrees.  Neither were square to the side boundary which was built with a raised wall for privacy.

There were so many awkward elements that it was a real challenge to get old and new to work together coherently

In the end, as the brief developed, including introducing wheelchair access it became apparent that renovating the existing building was not going to produce the best outcome and a wipe of the exiting house buildings, loss of the higher floor level and allowing a new 2 storey home design at the one level would bring a more satisfactory result rather than struggling with the existing 'features'.  We could still retain the double garage at the much lower level to the rear.

So where did we go next?
To Part 2 of this story. 
TBA

13 Lot subdivision

Four new homes of a new subdivision of 13 lots replacing worn out industrial buildings in an old industrial area once in the outer suburbs and now close to the city due to the growth and urban spread.  

Red Brick Renaissance.

The entry piers will look great in off form concrete.

The existing house has a very strong visual structure with vertical brick columns and souring roof shape. We can use those forms and rework the overall scheme by replacing the orange roof tiles with a dark metal roof and panels to modernise it.

We have lots of work to do inside so working with the existing forms and colours rather than redoing everything helps keep to an economical budget and be able to finish the project at a reasonable cost.

The overall scheme may look a little foreboding but once we add back in the strong green of landscaping it softens the industrial and gives it life and movement and brings the human element back in.

Bringing an iconic 1970's home into the 2020's we are plastering a lot of dark red brick inside to raise the ambient light levels of a dark south facing home however on the outside, rather than rendering all the existing brickwork we are going to feature it against dark charcoal colours and industrial material selections.

This home has a very strong identity in it's repeating tall brick piers and souring triangular roof shapes so Grandesign has created a design to enhance and work with it, giving it a fresh new life bringing the home into the current period. Gone is the orange roof tile and in with heavy strong metal sheeting and it's industrial profile.

The existing entry is converted for more master suite space with it's featured new ensuite and a new entry will be formed from the original breeze way which connects to the original garage now converted into a games tv room. More internal walls removed and a new kitchen and dining to create a more open plan living space and a enlarged opening with bi-fold doors opening out into the existing Alfresco and double doors onto the other side opening onto the sun filled open pergola area and BBQ.

The dark metal sheet will also replace the roof dormer with the down turn and struts removed as it faces south anyway, running vertically reinforcing the industrial feel.

Yesterday

This new home designed to meet heritage planning requirements sits within a suburb known for many wonderful examples of homes built around 100 years ago so it needs to fit in with it's neighbours and still meet the needs of a modern family.  Enjoying a two street frontage we are able to tuck the garage around to the side street and allow the frontage to the main street that might be mistaken for an original home of the area.


The home will be built with reverse brick veneer with lapped board cladding to the outside walls, unusual for Perth but common around the world.  The external timber frame can then be easily insulated and achieve a greater energy rating than it would if it was built in the common double leaves of brickwork.

The double storey encapsulates all the bedrooms with a single storey large open living dining and kitchen area enjoying vaulted ceilings that run all the way through to an outdoor alfresco area.

North is facing the street so we will have to wait to see if the planners will allow solar panels to occupy the large roof area.

Spending Energy Wisely

When you have an ideal location overlooking park to beach to ocean to island and a desire to build a high energy efficient and performance home then new ideas and solutions come to hand.

The home front is at 45 degrees to face North which has the added bonus of widening your frontage to the views and enabling more rooms to have an outlook.

Tucking the garage to the rear allows full access to the ocean views.




The design has gone through various permutations looking for the right outcome. In the end a roof deck taking advantage of the oean outlook was dropped to bring the project within budget.

And the completed home.

Performance in the winter has been excellent with no heating required except for the natural low winter sun entering deep into the large living room windows. 
Summer has been not quite as good despite the large areas of glass being shaded the whole day except for late in the afternoon when the sun setting over the ocean is low enough to get passed the large overhung verandahs.  It would appear that the glass is allowing in substantial amounts of ambient heat.

But overall the clients are really enjoying their luxury home by the sea with broad views of the every changing ocean and sky with sunsets and boating activity.