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HeigHt& ligHt

The nrthern side f theblck is faced by a furmetre high bundary wall,blcking nrthern lightin the winter. In respnse,the designers created“sunshells”, built higherthan the neighbur’s wall,t capture nrthern lightand draw it int thebuilding.

On a long, narrow block starved for light in inner-suburban Melbourne, two architect-homebuilders employ inspireddesign to rise above their home’s space constraints.

Words

FIo I

PhotograPhy

SoI MI

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The designers chsethis distinctive V-clumnbecause “it prvides a ltmre space at grund levelthan a cnventinal pstand beam arrangement,making it easier t getthe car in and ut f thegarage n this tight site.esthetically, the clumnals creates a distinctidentity, emphasizingthe ‘treehuse’ idea fa retreat at the back fthe blck.”

The beautiful naturally-litmezzanine rm abvethe kitchen can be usedfr numerus functins; atthe mment Tim has it setup as a study. The penmezzanine design fstersscial chesiveness in thehme: it means that chefand “wrker” can “happilycarry n a cnversatin”.

The living rm drspen nt the hme’sstreet-side curtyard andslatted timber frnt fence.This street interactivedesign encurages passers-by t stp and chat withTim if he’s sitting in viewin his living rm; if he’sfeeling less scial he canincrease privacy by partialclsure f the drs.The drs are als a keycmpnent in the huse’scrss ventilatin system.

If you thought that an extremely

narrow plot of landwith little direct sunlight would make an inauspicious site for a house, you would be right. Unless, that is, you’re acouple of architects in the market for“a weird block of land that nobody wouldknow what to do with”. So it happened thatTim Hill and Dominique Ng bought a tight160 square metre block wedged between aformer factory and an industrial kitchen inMelbourne’s Kensington.“We couldn’t see any way to get into thereal estate market apart from buying a cheap block of land and using our standard skill setto build a house ourselves,” says Tim. Heand Dominique had already spent six yearsplotting their dream home when they foundthis site. “We’d read a lot about small houses. We were thinking about what a good house would be like. ‘Sustainable’ is a word that’scome into common use, but we simply thought of it in terms of function andgood design, which to us meant naturallight, effective ventilation and comfort.”The house achieves a five star-rated building envelope without setting out to be,as Tim puts it, “super green”. Instead, thehouse achieves its high efficiency rating fromits innovative design, which was devised inresponse to the site’s primary constraint: along, skinny block, with the north-facing sideovershadowed by the neighbour’s four metrehigh wall. Clearly, the main problem Tim andDom faced was how to get enough naturallight. This led to their creative solution,dubbed “sunshells”, for harvesting sunlight.High on the north-facing wall is a row of windows. At two storeys high, the windowsare above the neighbour’s wall and have brilliant solar access. Sunlight floods throughthe windows and washes across the wood veneer ceiling and southern walls to theground floor.A slight gap between the second-storey floor and the south wall not only facilitatesthe ‘dripping down’ of light from the secondstorey, but also lets cool air flow through thehouse from the low south-facing windowsto the north-facing windows upstairs.“The window placement creates a naturalstack effect, or cross ventilation,” says Tim.“When you open the windows and doorsin summer, a gentle draft comes throughthe house. On the other hand, when youclose them in winter, the house is quiteself-contained.”Tim says the house is comfortable all year round. The concrete floor is shaded insummer, thanks to a grand old deciduousstreet tree that blocks the western sun.“During horrendous summer nights it’sactually comfortable in here. I sleep undercovers the whole time!” In winter a gas in-slab hydronic system makes quick workof warming the house. “I turn it on in themorning and within twenty minutes thefloor is warm to the touch.”Because the block was so compact,Tim and Dom aimed to maximise space.“You can do pretty cool things on small blocks,” says Tim. The stairs to the mezzaninelevel, for example, are 25cm narrower thanusual to save space, but because their treadsoverlap, they’re easy to walk on. All doors and windows can be flung open to expand spacesand “foster connections between rooms”. With all internal doors open, a person lyingin bed could have a conversation across thecourtyard with someone cooking in thekitchen.“It’s not enough to have one space forone occasion when space is limited: you needmultiple uses for space.” Tim gestures to theliving area, which opens onto the kitchen andcourtyard. “This was designed for family gatherings, because Dom has a large family.”Sadly, family gatherings now will be tinged with regret: Dom passed away unexpectedly within months of the house being completed.Despite Dom’s passing, Tim says he can’timagine leaving. “It’s a really comfortable city pad. When you design a place yourself, youcan do it in a way to suit your lifestyle. It’smodest-sized, but I wouldn’t want it any bigger. This is an incredibly comfortablesolution for me – I love everything about it.”For more information about naturalconvection see Design Notes, House Ventilation p88

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The main bedrm pensnt the curtyard and isaccessed via a stairwayrunning alng the nrthernbundary. This rm wasdesigned t be a retreat,yet is cnnected t themain living areas via thecurtyard when the bi-flddrs are pened. Thecarpets are made frmnatural bre, sisal.

The frmply bx bkcasesare designedas multifunctinal strage,and can be relcated andrecngured as needed.Here they’re placed underthe staircase t utilise thistraditinally challengingspace. The kitchencabinetry is plywd.01 ntry02 Living03 Kitchen04 Dining05 Curtyard06 Main Bedrm07 nsuite08 Study09 Bathrm10 uest Bedrm11 Car rt

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