25P House
A house reduced and reconnected to its subtropical rainforest-edge setting.
54 m²removed from the proposed footprint
7.5NatHERS
98/100Whole of Home
BAL-29bushfire exposure
Whole-home performance
Final NatHERS assessment.
How the design was tuned
PHPP design-development testing.
Grey = limit (100%). Colour = design demand as a percentage of that limit.
Heating 7.2 of 15 kWh/m²/year · primary energy 50 of 60 kWh/m²/year.
Design-development modelling used to test and refine the project before the final NatHERS assessment.
A house on the site, but not yet of the place.
The existing volume-built house was poorly planned and disconnected from its steep, humid subtropical setting. The opportunity was not to erase it, but to understand what could remain and what needed to change.
Smaller became a design move.
The proposed footprint is reduced by 54 m². Removing area simplifies the plan, reduces resources and opens stronger relationships to breeze, dappled light and the surrounding canopy.
This is not reduction for its own sake. The test is whether less area can produce a better, more adaptable place to live.
Open to the place. Protected from its extremes.
The house is shaped around shade, cross-ventilation and connection to landscape while responding to heat, humidity, intense rain and bushfire exposure. A high-performance envelope and controlled ventilation sit alongside passive opportunities rather than replacing them.
Materials that can age, be repaired and belong.
Locally grown Araucaria plywood, blackbutt, cork and raw brass are chosen for how they work as much as how they look. The palette is intended to patinate, accept use and remain understandable over time.
Designed to keep adapting.
A loose-fit approach leaves room for the house to change without requiring every future use to be predicted now. The architecture aims to be resolved enough to work well and open enough to keep adapting.