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SANCTUARY58 SANCTUARY 59
pavilionliving
ThiS No-fRillS home iN The SUNShiNe CoASThiNTeRlANd mAkeS The moST of CooliNgbReezeS, SiTTiNg high oveR A dAm
Words
Fncn ly
photography
pu ccul ppy
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he home sits high over adam. t’s safe from oodigde to the high eevatio ofthe vae.
 
SANCTUARY60hoUSe pRofileRegioNAl qUeeNSlANdSANCTUARY 61hoUSe pRofileRegioNAl qUeeNSlANd
In the country or on the coast,
architect Matt Cooper would use the sametenet to guide the design of any new home:orientation, orientation, orientation.“In our experience, orientation is the mostimportant element to consider in sustainabledesign – it has the largest impact,” says Matt,of firm Aspect Architecture, based in Brisbaneand Kingscliff on the New South Wales northcoast. “The plan, 3D form, ceiling heights andthe like can all then be designed to exploit andadd to the benefits of correct orientation.”After years of hunting for just the right site,the client came upon a perfect patch outsideEumundi, a township in the Sunshine Coasthinterland. It’s 25ha of rural heaven.“This particular site is in a beautiful pieceof country and the dam, which is continually flushed by a small creek, was an addedattraction,” says Matt, who homed in on thedam’s potential for water views and natural air-conditioning.“The house is sited over the edge of thedam so when the wind passes across the water,it cools as it goes and then passes through thehouse as cool air.”And if you’re shuddering to think of risingflood waters, Matt holds steadfastly to thedecision to place the house so close to the dam.“The dam is continually overflowing assmall creeks feed into it on the high side. Thesite is still quite high in the landscape, althoughthis house is built in a valley within thatimmediate landscape. Although the groundmight get a bit boggy, the water always getsaway. There was no need to do anything extrato mitigate flooding.”On this land, Matt decided upon a simplepavilion structure, with the living area at thecentre and a bedroom on either side.“The client was clear that two bedroomswould be enough for their needs,” Matt saysof the basic floor plan for inhabitants thatmay include, in various combinations at any one time, two adults, two children and sundry guests.Matt says the pavilion idea allows the houseto function well both environmentally andpractically.“The separation of the building massencourages cross-flow ventilation through thebuilding, gives great opportunities for naturallight, and allows us to control the sun to eachspace more accurately. Functionally, it allowseach space its own privacy – for a modestly-sized home, you never feel like you are on topof each other.”It’s a house with a simple floor plan, puttogether with no-frills building methods andmaterials, which means once the buildingfloor platform was up, there was very littledisturbance to the site during construction.“All the natural overland water flow pathswere maintained, which was very important asthey feed into the dam with its great fauna: fish,turtles, birds,” Matt points out.For materials, Matt chose cladding andflooring that would respect the rural setting.He says the exterior zincalume wall claddingis a long-lasting, basic building material whichaesthetically fits in well with the bush. Mattadds that the environmental benefit of onecladding over another when considering theoverall project is marginal.“The bigger impact items are orientationand access to sun, breeze and natural light. Forthis house, the northeast orientation of themain building axis allows excellent solar accessduring the morning and winter periods whilethe ensuites of the sleeping pavilions act as abuffer from the western sun.”Some heating help is required in winter,and that’s where the slow combustion woodstove becomes invaluable.“The client wanted something that wouldprovide both atmosphere and the amount of heat needed for the home,” Matt says. Theoverall property is very large, so a fire of thissize will be fed with timber already availablefrom fallen branches around the property ortrees that are knocked down by storms. On thisproperty there will be no need to ever cut downa tree to fuel the fire.
The house is sited overthe edge of the dam sowhen the wind passesacross the water, itcools as it goes andthen passes throughthe house as cool air.
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he oe a ombiedivig, diig ad kitherooms. he hawa eadsthrogh to a bedroomaviio whih a be osedo from the rest of the hose.
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he aviio ste hoseeorages ross vetiatio.
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