I can be a bit of a pain when it comes to family holidays. Almost without fail family will get dragged around looking at new houses and buildings or coaxed into taking an architecture tour. Our 1997 holiday in Queensland was no different. I had looked up a particular house I knew of in the local phone book to find the address. Great news! It was listed. We found it without much hassle and rocked up to the front door and cheekily asked if we could take some photos. The owners said “sure” and preceded to give us the grand tour.

 

So you may be asking “What is so special about this place?” Well firstly, the house was designed by one of Australia’s top architects, Lindsay Clare and second is that the house is a great example of quality design without the price tag and that was an area I was interested in.

 

Let’s talk about the cost of good design. It is often perceived that to get quality custom design work done that a premium must be paid. This is true in the sense that a mass produced product will more often than not be cheaper than a one off custom design however with housing in particular I hold two strong opinions. The first is that just because an “out of the book” house design is cheaper it isn’t necessarily better value due to the compromises made by accepting something that isn’t tailored to you and your lifestyle. The second is that good design doesn’t always cost more, in fact it can bring savings to the owner by careful consideration of all aspects of design therefore minimising expenditure on unnecessary excess. So let’s look at the Clare House.

 

Located in Buderim, Queensland this building defies the local convention of brick cladding, clay tile roof and air conditioning by embracing the environment and makes it work for the design rather than fighting against it. This family home has no air conditioning, not even ceiling fans, yet remains cool in the summer due to its unique design. The key is cross flow ventilation coupled with natural convection. To achieve this, the long side of the house is oriented to the prevailing breeze with a series of louvres and doors at the ground level on both sides allow the air to travel through the house. Airflow is also allowed to travel upwards (hot air rises) and on outside via upper level louvres. Wide roof overhangs provide further control by protecting the house from the harsh sun.

 

 

So the cost? This house was built in 1992 at a cost of less than $600/m2. Standard brick and tile houses were being built for $700-$800/m2 at that time. So not only was the house cheaper to build the running costs were hugely reduced!

 

 

 

Next issue we will look how we can apply these same principles for us in our New Zealand environment.

 

Tony Biesiek

IMAGINE BUILDING DESIGN

121e Mangati Road

Bell Block

Ph 7699599