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design
mag |
21
The recently completed Ilma Grove house is
Andrew Maynard Architect’s greenest house
so far. Its planning and orientation is based
solidly around passive solar efficiency and
takes advantage of the north facing backyard.
This extension was a development of an idea
around an exploration of mass where
segments were carved out in order to
maximize sun penetration.This generated a
geometrical structure where the internal flesh
of the box is revealed with rich timber surfaces,
contrasting with the raw recycled brickwork.
The choice of materials was a vital step in
order to create a sustainable structure. It was
decided to re-use/re-assemble the existing
bricks from the demolished areas of the old
part of the house to form the new addition,
blurring the line between what is new and
what is old.
Using recycled materials is a sustainable
choice, however there is still a carbon debt
accrued by the transport and reworking of
materials.The Ilma Grove house avoids this by
reusing the bricks of the demolished lean-to
on site.This avoids waste, landfill and
transportation of materials, and ties the
material language of the new structure back
into the original house.
Face brick masonry is also a durable and a
low maintenance material which can
potentially be recycled again. Reinforcing the
thermal performance of the recycled brick is
high performance insulation that has been
installed throughout the home.
Bricks are the ultimate recyclable material.
Think Brick Australia’s Designing for Climate
website (www.designing forclimate.com.au)
can help you understand your site and the
opportunities for maximising passive design
features to achieve optimum comfort and
reduce energy consumption.
The corbelled fence of Corbett Lyon’s
remarkable Housemuseum creates a
strong street presence.The private
home holds the Lyon art collection and
is open to limited public viewing by
appointment. (Photos courtesy Lyons.)
Andrew Maynard’s Ilma Grove house
exploits passive design principles.
(Photo courtesy Andrew Maynard
Architects.) Red stripes on the roof of
Penleigh and Essendon Grammar’s
western evoke a Federation
grandstand. (Photo: John Gollings.)
“Fitzroy High School employed brick because
it allowed a fluid form which could be highly
coloured and textured,” says Ryan, reflecting
on her selection of the variegated brick
colours for this project.“Its ambition was to be
`urban marker’ of a community which has
artistic and sustainable ambitions.The school
wanted to show to the wider world that they
were embracing a new way of teaching and
that this building was a community building
for ongoing learning.”
The award-winning Lyons Architects’
Mornington Centre features bricks specifically
designed to look like the texture of timber.
Their more recent Housemuseum in Cotham
Road, Kew features a beautiful brick fence,
again a quintessential play on the suburban
brick fence.
‘The design work of our practice is research
led and one of our interests is looking at how
conventional materials (like bricks) can be
used in new and interesting ways,” says
Corbett Lyon.“Bricks have been around since
Roman times and here in our Australian
context they have a special place in our
suburban landscape.At the Housemuseum,
the front fence is made from suburban bricks
– so it looks much the same as all of the other
houses in the street – but acknowledges the
Housemuseum’s role as a public/civic
building, the names of the two street frontages
incorporated in the brickwork in three-metre
high letters.The corbelled brickwork also gives
the fence a textual quality and a strong
presence to the street.”
More and more interesting projects are
emerging around the inner and middle
suburbs of clever design that also perform
well environmentally.