The client’s brief to architect: “To create a family friendly, energy efficient Passivhaus providing three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an office/guest room for visiting parents using the existing Tallowwood tree as a key feature”.
About the Original Home
The owners bought the property in Thornleigh so they could build their forever home. The site for the home is tucked between a busy road and a train line. To create the tranquil oasis the owners wanted meant factoring the noise and air pollution into the design.
The Challenge
One of the owner’s chief concerns was to keep the home cool during the harsh Australian summer an to reduce the noise pollution from the street and the trainline infiltrating into the home.
On top of that, a key element for the project was the beautiful, expansive tallowwood tree in the middle of the site, which the owners wanted to keep – and magnify as a major feature.
Passive and Sustainable Design Elements
The house structure was elevated to preserve the tallowwood tree’s root system, and the home was built around it. The deck wraps around the tallowwood so that the tree becomes part of the home.
Triple glazed windows, thick walls and continuous insulation work together to substantially reduce noise. The airtight exterior of the home and the Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery (MVHR) prevent pollution entering the house and guarantee clean fresh air fills the home.
This has resulted in a quiet, peaceful home filled with light and fresh air, with views of the magnificent tallowwood from every living space.
Passive homes are renowned for their ultra-low energy bills. But the owners of the Thornleigh house wanted to go even beyond the Passive House Certification standards – touted as the highest in the world – and make their home entirely self-sustaining. So, we did!