lara calder architecture: 'eco house'

‘eco house’ by lara calder architecture image courtesy lara calder architecture

australian firm lara calder architecture designed ‘eco house’ which was awarded first prize last year in the future competition 2008 held by australian green.

their design concept was that of a temporary shelter.

‘eco house’image courtesy lara calder architecture

‘eco house’ is an intelligent response providing a suitable and sustainable building form for suburban development in western metropolitan sydney. it offers an alternative to resource-hungry low-cost project homes. in its intended suburban context, car provision has not been given a high priority.

‘eco house’image courtesy lara calder architecture

‘eco house’image courtesy lara calder architecture

the primary structure is six timber portals. over these portals a high-tech fabric ‘fly’ is suspended. in each portal bay pre-fabricated units are suspended and configured to produce a flexible interior living environment. the prefabricated pods have weatherproof roof, walls and floors, however the primary weather barrier is the fabric canopy.

‘eco house’image courtesy lara calder architecture

‘eco house’image courtesy lara calder architecture

materials are generally selected for their low embodied energy. the structure necessarily includes some steel and plastic-based elements, however these are minimized in favour of predominantly timber, cement and plaster products. the portals are laminated timber pinned to concrete footings. the fabric is a pvc waterproof membrane. the prefabricated units have a rigid steel outer frame with timber-frame infill panels to walls and roof. the floor is a concrete slab panel. the units are clad in painted fibre-cement with a liquid membrane roof. window and door frames are timber. double-glazing is used throughout the house.

‘eco house’image courtesy lara calder architecture

a connectedness with the outdoors is throughout the year is a feature of sydney’s climate and a key consideration in the design of this house. north window overhangs are configured to admit low angle winter sun and shade from summer sun. the insulated concrete pod floors provide thermal mass. wide opening doors on both levels acknowledge the benign nature of sydney’s climate while smaller south-facing windows facilitate cross ventilation and the necessary ‘relief valve’ to combat over-heating in summer. all windows and doors are double-glazed. windows are generally awning type allowing for good sealing when closed and to act as large louvres when open. fabric blinds are provided for additional thermal comfort and to secure warm ambient temperatures on cool nights.

‘eco house’image courtesy lara calder architecture

while energy self-sufficiency is an ideal, they expect that the house will have an external energy supplies available. in their suburban context they proposed a grid connected electrical supply (using photovoltaic cells on the roof) and a gas supply.

‘eco house’image courtesy lara calder architecture

hot water will be provided by a gas-boosted solar hot water storage cylinder. solar panels will be roof-mounted (adjacent to the photovoltaic cells) and the water cylinder is located on the south side of the house.

‘eco house’image courtesy lara calder architecture

the fabric roof is provided with a barge/guttering system to direct the water to concrete storage tanks in the ground between the portal footings. there are four tanks assigned to rainwater collection with a total capacity of approximately 30,000 litres. the stored rainwater is used for laundering and exterior uses. overflows from the raintanks could be directed to a neighbourhood collection and reuse system for irrigating public areas, parks etc.
wastewater from showers and basins is collected and treated in the fifth tank and stored for toilet flushing only.

‘eco house’ timber structureimage courtesy lara calder architecture

‘eco house’ north elevationimage courtesy lara calder architecture

‘eco house’ exteriorimage courtesy lara calder architecture

‘eco house’ planimage courtesy lara calder architecture

‘eco house’ planimage courtesy lara calder architecture

‘eco house’ planimage courtesy lara calder architecture

‘eco house’ site planimage courtesy lara calder architecture