News
I can't remember a time when I had so much going on, so maybe the economy is not as bad as some of the pollies are saying. There are still plenty of successful, adventurous people out there who are pushing ahead with their dreams.
Hunter Hill approval ( April 2012 )
It's taken a while but we now have approval for the Kopuz family home on their waterfront site at Hunters Hill. The slope made it impossible to comply with the Council's 2 storey height limit, so we overcame this by dividing the building into 2 halves separated by a strip of vegetation to create the illusion of 2 dwellings. There is an underground connecting stairwell, and a glass walled lift that emerges from the garden ( all very James Bond, especially with a pool over the lower pavilion ). The views aren't too shabby either.
Mountain goat territory ( April 2012 )
Len and Sue Walters' site at Curl Curl is the steepest block I have ever worked on. Amazingly, it had never been built on - until now. It will be worth the effort though, with brilliant views out to sea, and up and down the coast. It is 14m in height from the garage to the kitchen, which is nearly 5 stories. Access is via an inclinator, or lots of stairs for the very fit. Excavation has only just started, so I will add more photos as the construction progresses.
Klopfer house has started ( April 2012 )
Gary and Jill have been waiting patiently to see some dust flying on their Bilgola Plateau block. There was an old house that needed to be knocked down ( a good thing too as there was asbestos sheeting hidden under the weatherboards ), but it is gone now, so assuming that the dry weather continues, things should progress rapidly now. The angled rear of the house helps preserves the neighbours diagonal views, and provides options for dealing with the winds coming from different angles.
Tozer house approved ( April 2012 )
Located on the far south coast of WA, Peter and Frizz's 8 ha site has excellent ocean views, and offered unlimited geometric freedom with no setbacks or neighbours to worry about, and clients who wanted something a bit different. In other words, every designer's dream come true. This is the result.
Jones house underway ( March 2012 )
After endless delays due to rain, builder Adam Anderson finally has this project out of the ground, and it is now flying together. The house has been designed with a curved glass front at both levels so that all rooms take advantage of the views up Pittwater to Lion Island.
Another Pittwater approval ( Feb 2012 )
Anthony and Sylke Claridges bought their Newport site after seeking advice from me re it's suitability for their dream home. It had great views over Pittwater, but faced west, and was fairly steep. I knew from experience that these issues could be overcome with good design, so persuaded them to buy it. Here is the approved house.
Best Coastal Homes ( Jan 2012 )
2 of my clifftop projects, both overlooking the ocean in Sydney's Northern Beaches, were chosen for inclusion in this recently published prestige architectural book. They are the Hegarty house at Warriewood, and the Milpete house at Newport. The book is on sale now.
Avalon waterfront project nearing completion ( Dec 2011 )
This is a major addition to a grand old waterfront house overlooking Pittwater in Sydney's northern beaches. The new work spread over 4 levels includes an enlarged living area, several new decks, new bedrooms and bathrooms, a new pool, a new large games room ( with windows into the pool ). and a 2 storey self contained flat under the pool ! An interesting mix of old world charm and modern lifestyle, for adventurous clients.
Stevens house finished - go to galleries page ( Dec 2011 )
This rare vacant site at the south end of Whale Beach offered some of the best views that I have ever seen, and facing north too, which is a rare combination on the east coast of oz. The zig zag front is a lot more fun than just a straight glass wall, and helps focus the view on the sweep of Whale Beach.
van der Wallen house approved ( nov 2011 )
John's old house on a nice north facing corner block in a quiet street in Avalon was falling apart, so he asked me to design a new house that would maximise the good aspects of the site. The resulting house features a large open plan living area with balconies at each end, and highlight windows facing east to offer sky and tree top views, and to capture the morning sun. Some of these windows are louvres so will also assist with cross flow ventilation. Below these windows is a large expanse of wall for John's collection of Jasper Knight paintings, and the stained timber ceiling and floor will also be strong features. Like myself, John is a keen surfer so I couldn't resist adding a wave to the western exterior wall !
Leete and Johanson house approved ( sept 2011 )
What a site! Another one without all the usual design restrictions, and beautiful ocean and mountain views. I couldn't resist designing a curved house for Paul and Lindy to fully encompass the 180 deg plus views. Construction has started but only footings so far.
Michael project completed ( Aug 2011 )
Building sites don't come much more difficult than this waterfront site at Church Point. Steep, narrow road,complex design, existing trees to preserve, and overhead power lines in the way. Builder Greg Hunter has overcome all of these issues and produced a very special house. This will be added to the galleries page soon, but here is a sneak preview.
More Awards !
At the Building Designers Association Annual Award presentation night in October 2011, the Owen Forrester residence won Best New Dwelling in the 250 - 350 m2 category, and the von Drehnen residence was awarded a commendation for the 450 + category.
These awards and the associated industry recognition confirms that our policy of always designing to the highest possible standards is working.
International Recognition
The Heise house ( see gallery 3 ) was chosen in 2006 to be featured in a worldwide publication featuring some of the greatest historical and living Architects including Frank LLoyd Wright, Harry Seidler, Glen Murcutt and Sir Norman Foster. The book is titled " Home - design and architecture from prehistory to today ", and is published in Australia by Viking. This inclusion is a great honour and demonstrates that our designs rank amongst the best the world has to offer.
Building On Steep Sites
It is now common practice around the coast of Australia, and particularly in the Northern Beaches for new houses to be built on steep sites that a few decades ago would have been considered to be structurally and economically unifiable.
In fact it was not uncommon for banks to refuse mortgages on these sites due to the Geotechnical risks.
Four major changes have occurred since those earlier days, so that these properties are now highly sought after.
The first major change is improved awareness of Geotechnical, Civil and Structural Engineering issues and construction techniques. Pittwater Council’s recently upgraded Landslip Hazard Policy was originally instigated by Warringah Council in response to numerous houses sliding down the slope in the early seventies, particularly in the Pittwater area. Since the introduction of that policy , a Geotech report has been mandatory on any site considered to be at risk. The Geotech Engineer is obliged to thoroughly analyse all risks associated with the site, including hazards further up the slope such as unstable boulders and slopes, failing retaining walls etc, and recommend the footing design for the house, and remedial action for the external hazards. Once the project has been completed, the site is often much more stable than it was in it’s natural state. The Geotech Engineer also plays a strategic role during construction, inspecting the site during excavation, and fine tuning his recommendations as required. More sophisticated and flexible excavation machinery has been developed by the construction industry in response to increased demand.
The second major change is increased land values. Steep sites that may have been worth $10 to $15,000 in the early seventies can now be worth millions, well and truly justifying the extra building costs. Most of these steep sites have spectacular views, and those views themselves have been increasingly valued by our society.
The third major change has been scarcity of land. The Northern Beaches has been recognised as one of the best places on the planet to live, and the amount of land available is geographically limited. Changing demographics and work practices mean that more people do not have to commute to the city, so the distance from the CBD is much less of an inhibiting factor. Predictably, the flat or moderately sloping sites were used up first, so with time, the only available vacant sites are the previously unwanted steep ones.
The fourth major change has been a revolution in Australian residential architecture. In the last 10 to 20 years, and particularly on the coast, there has been a general trend away from the brick and tile mentality, and cold climate architecture that resulted from our colonisation history. We are now designing, building and living in houses that suit our semi tropical climate, our informal outdoor lifestyle, and our iconic building materials, such as corrugated iron and weatherboards. This trend towards lightweight construction suits steep sites perfectly as the houses can be designed to be supported on strategically placed posts on concrete piers, rather than on the continuous and expensive footings needed for masonry, resulting in major cost savings.
It is essential when designing houses for these sites to incorporate large balconies, as there is generally no usable level garden area.
The resulting houses can be wonderful places to live, with excellent views, balconies amongst the tree tops, and little or no garden to maintain. The steep topography usually means 3, 4 or even 5 floor levels, so virtually all the rooms can take advantage of the views.
Sustainable Building The Key To The Future
As global warming and water shortages become more a part of all our lives, then increasingly it is becoming beholden on us to act in an environmentally responsible manner. If you are planning on building a new home, then you have the opportunity to play a key role in correcting these major problems. The New South Wales government has recently introduced a water and energy efficiency housing policy called BASIX, and meeting it's compulsory minimum performance standards is a good start. Other options are available such as grey water recycling, solar voltaics and solar water heating etc.
Case study - new house at Bayview
In what may be a first in Pittwater, the owners of this house which is currently under construction at Bayview, are aiming to be self sufficient in water and energy consumption.
Under BASIX (refer to www.basix.com.au), all new houses are required to meet minimum consumption reduction targets compared to the existing housing stock. For both water and energy consumption, that minimum is 40 %.
Water Efficiency
Typically, a rainwater tank of about 5000 L is required to pass BASIX, with the water being re-used in the laundry, toilets and garden, and it is also necessary to specify low water use fittings and appliances (eg dishwasher) throughout the house.
For this project, a water consultant was engaged to calculate the necessary tank size for self sufficiency, and the results indicated that a 20,000 L tank would result in a 95% probability of never running out of water, and that going to a 30,000 L tank would only increase that to 98%, so the smaller of these 2 options was chosen.
The relatively high rain fall in the Northern Beaches area, combined with large blocks (and hence large roof areas) makes water self efficiency easier to achieve compared to the inland areas of Sydney. The Penrith area for example receives approximately half of the yearly rainfall that occurs at the coast.The water consultant also assisted in the selection of the pump, and all the household fittings and appliances as these items have to be compatible with each other in terms of pressure and flow rates. Additionally, he provided a schematic diagram to assist the plumber with installation.
It was decided that the increased complexity and costs associated with grey and waste water recycling was unwarranted given the easy availability of the existing sewer system, and the abundance of rainwater.
Energy Efficiency
The first step in this process is to make the house to be as energy efficient as possible, using passive solar design principals. North facing windows, particularly in the living areas, appropriate eaves overhangs, thermal mass (in this case concrete floors), cross flow ventilation and insulation to the walls and roof all play their part in this equation. Low “E” glazing was specified to all windows and doors as it approximately twice as efficient as standard clear glass at preventing heat loss in winter.
Thus the amount of energy needed to heat the house in winter is minimised, and, as is typical of all new houses that comply with BASIX, air conditioning is simply a waste of money.
The second step is to select low energy usage appliances as this plays a major role in reducing energy consumption, as does solar assisted gas boosted hot water heating.
All of the above will achieve the compulsory decrease in energy consumption.
Solar Voltaics.
In order to go from a 40% reduction to 100%, solar voltaics are necessary. The biggest issue with solar generated electricity is storing the energy as it only available during the day, where as peak demand is obviously at night. The solution to this is to use the existing grid as a “battery” by feeding power into it during the day (the meter runs backwards during this process), and then drawing on the grid at night, in which case the meter then runs forwards. The desired outcome is come out even overall.
Solar Heating
For this project, the hot water and pool are both solar heated.
Team Members
In response to the ever increasing demand on our services, Rhett Drew has come on board in the role of project management.
Rhett's background is rather impressive. He has an honours degree in Geology, is a former Major in the British army, has been a director of various companies, a stock market analyst, and a real estate property manager. He has also played 300 1st grade Rugby Union matches including 99 for Eastern Suburbs as captain. As the design and approval process becomes increasingly more complex every year (thanks to Governments at all levels), his contribution to the huge amount of management involved in each project is a welcome relief.
Pittwater Council Connection
Since 2002 I have been an active member of Pittwater Council's Urban Design Advisory Panel, which is a semi-formal committee consisting of Councillors, Senior staff and independent Designers and Townplanners. The purpose of the panel is to generally advise Council on townplanning policy and procedures, to comment on public buildings and works, and to promote a better understanding between the Council and those who regularly submit Development Applications. My participation is of great benefit to my Pittwater clients as it has enabled me to build an excellent working relationships with all key Council staff members, and to have a greater understanding of the critical issues facing the Council during the DA assessment process.
This benefit has been demonstrated by the recent approval of numerous projects, several of which were waterfronts. All were on steep, difficult sites with various view loss, overshadowing and privacy issues. All had strongly objecting neighbours. All were approved quickly with little or no alteration to the original design.
More Pittwater Connections
I was invited by Pittwater Council to design a new duplex for them at a rezoned site opposite Mona Vale Beach, and to be a judge (along with renowned architect Peter Stutchbury) for their 2004 and 2006 Civic Design Awards.
Building Costs
"How much will this house cost to build" is a question I get asked all the time. Here is a rough guide for Sydney. Most of my projects work out at about $2000 /m2, and a typical modern house is around 350-400 m2 (including balconies and garages). So $7-800,000 for a fully finished new house is usually the answer, based on lightweight construction. This usually includes demolition of an old house and all site costs, but doesn’t include fences, landscaping, floor coverings, blinds etc. However, there are many factors that can cause this to escalate. Steep sites, difficult access, Geotechnical issues, excessive excavation, construction methodology, selection of interior and external finishes will all add to the cost.
Excellent Design Is An Excellent Investment !
Several of our award winning houses have been sold in the last few years, each time setting record prices for their areas. As the better parts of Australia are increasingly becoming part of a global market, houses designed to high standards of excellence increasingly become more sought after, and are therefore able to command a premium price.
Special thanks
To all the brave clients (past, present and future) who have allowed me to indulge in radical and interesting geometrical experiments with their principle asset. Without you my life would be much less interesting.
Brave Client Wanted For Rotating House.
Do you own a spectacular site and would like a truly original house designed for it? How about a house that can rotate to follow the sun or the sea breeze, or merely your own personal whim.
I spent many years designing large rotating machines in the mining industry so this would be a perfect opportunity to combine that experience with architectural design.
If you are slightly mad, please give me a call on 9973 3312, or through our contact page.
Peter Downes
House Designs | Home Designs | Northern Beaches Architect