Everyone was a winner when LandCorp teamed with Eaton Building and Gresley Abas Architects to create this innovative home in the Pilbara
LANDCORP'S vision to create a home that demonstrated the "Pilbara Vernacular" has come to fruition in award-winning style.
Karratha's Madigan Estate was the chosen location for this project and the government developer invited architects and nominated builders to come up with a concept that contributed to Karratha's "character and sense of place" while providing "functional efficiency and comfort at a reasonable market price".
The chosen submission, which has been described as an Esky with an umbrella on top, was the brainchild of Gresley Abas Architects and Eaton Building.
It was actually Eaton Building's unique roof system that set this 100 per cent carbon-neutral home apart from the competition.
"The parasol roof over the main outdoor living areas allows for cool breezes from any direction to cool the home," says Brydon Eaton, assistant manager at Eaton Building.
"The roof system is our own portal roof-truss system. We've featured this on many of our homes over the past 15 years, with this home being adapted to suit the design.
"The main idea is that different floor layouts can be achieved without altering the main roof structure." The result is an 8-star-rated, four-bedroom, two-bathroom home that has been designed with integrated water and energy real-time monitoring systems, and a large 5kW solar panel array to produce 6980 units of free electricity annually.
This approach resulted in 397,690kg of carbon being offset.
According to Brydon, the addition of MasterWall K-Series cladding as insulation adds to the home's energy efficiency.
"We were one of the first to use the product in the North-West," he says. "It's a great product and much of the cooling can be attributed to this." The orientation and layout is also significant.
"The home faces almost directly east to west," Brydon says.
"With bedrooms to the north of the home and living areas to the southern side, the main areas of the home are sheltered from the summer sun.
"All bedrooms and living areas feature split-system airconditioning, a must in the Pilbara." Two large wind chimneys also channel fresh cool air into the main living area, acting like natural airconditioners.
"Karratha can get pretty windy and this home has been designed to capture the breezes where possible," Brydon says.
Energy efficiency aside, this home's layout is also perfectly suited to family life in the Pilbara.
"With an executive standard interior, this home is a glimpse into the future of Karratha," Brydon says.
"The large outdoor living spaces, pool and barbecue area, and upstairs open games area really suit the Pilbara. People love the outdoor lifestyle and for seven months a year the Pilbara has comfortable weather." The build quality was so impressive that the judges of this year's Master Builders Bankwest Kimberley Pilbara Building Excellence Awards declared the Pilbara Vernacular Demonstration Home to be the best dwelling in the Pilbara and the overall Kimberley/Pilbara region.
Gresley Abas Architects received a commendation for their work on this project in the Residential Architecture - Houses (New) category at the 2015 Australian Institute of Architects WA Chapter Awards.
FAST FACTS Won the Best Country Home and Best Pilbara Home awards at this year's Master Builders Bankwest Kimberley Pilbara Building Excellence Awards.
Masterwall K-Series cladding adds to the home's energy efficiency. Bedrooms on the north side of the home act as a heat barrier to the main living spaces.
GET THE LOOK BUILDER: Eaton Building, phone: 9143 1930 or 0400 407 075, eatonbuilding.com.auDESIGNER: Gresley Abas Architects,phone: 9322 5322, www.gresleyabas.com.au