Sanctuary House
Architecture Residential Brunswick East, Victoria, Australia
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1. Front - shutters closed Openable timber shutters allow adjustable solar control while providing privacy. This liberates the house from the need for a front fence enabling the front garden to bestow abundant foliage on the botanically sparse neighbourhood Reannon Smith 8199 px 5465 px 3 MB A3 print |
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2. Front - shutters open Openable timber shutters allow adjustable solar control while providing privacy. This liberates the house from the need for a front fence enabling the front garden to bestow abundant foliage on the botanically sparse neighbourhood Reannon Smith 8199 px 5465 px 3 MB A3 print |
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3. Entry Hall Openable timber shutters allow adjustable solar control while providing privacy. 5443 px 8165 px 1 MB A3 print |
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4. Entry Openable timber shutters allow adjustable solar control while providing privacy. 5503 px 8256 px 2 MB A3 print |
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5. Courtyard he U-shaped floorplan is designed around a central courtyard that directs winter sun into the living rooms over the double-storey neighbouring 5445 px 8168 px 1 MB A3 print |
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6. windows Highlight windows brig in warming winter sun onto the concrete floor 5435 px 8153 px 1 MB A3 print |
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7. Courtyard windows The courtyard brings the beautiful natural landscape right up to the house including cooling plants and a pond. Reannon Smith 4998 px 7497 px 1 MB A3 print |
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8. Courtyard threshold Slatted timber elements continue in the courtyard where a horizontal cantilevered awning integrates the building with the garden 5440 px 8161 px 2 MB A3 print |
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9. View from Bedroom Distant verdant views can be glimpsed across the whole site, expanding the sense of space in a compact 120m2 house on a small property. Reannon Smith 5392 px 8089 px 1 MB A3 print |
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10. Kitchen 5455 px 8184 px 1 MB A3 print |
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11. Bathroom The house is designed to be wheelchair accessible, single-level living with generous hallways and doorways and a relatively large bathroom with open shower, looking forward to aging in place. Reannon Smith 5452 px 8179 px 1 MB A3 print |
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12. Living The rooms adjacent feel immersed in the garden’s wild serenity. Distant Reannon Smith 7426 px 4951 px 1 MB A3 print |
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13. 5450 px 8176 px 1 MB A3 print |
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14. Pergola detail he slats encourage deciduous vines to engulf the north-facing doors and windows and provide summer shade. 5435 px 8153 px 1 MB A3 print |
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15. west facade shutters openable shutters on the west facade Reannon Smith 5452 px 8179 px 1 MB A3 print |
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16. front screen Privacy behind the slatted facade 5432 px 8149 px 2 MB A3 print |
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17. All electric The house is all-electric, with no gas, and incorporates solar power and electric vehicle charging. Reannon Smitrh 5503 px 8256 px 2 MB A3 print |
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18. Pergola plants he slats encourage deciduous vines to engulf the north-facing doors and windows and provide summer shade. 5503 px 8256 px 964 KB A3 print |
Description
Sanctuary House integrates advanced construction techniques with natural materials and a wild landscape to provide an unexpected urban oasis in Brunswick East.
The house is built with SIPs (structural insulated panels) - a thermally sound and lightweight modular system. This contemporary method of construction enables building houses that are fast and resource-efficient to construct while being energy-efficient and naturally comfortable to occupy. In contrast to the slick metal cladding of the walls, timber-slatted screens are integrated into the façade to soften the house and make it a semi-transparent hideaway.
Openable timber shutters allow adjustable solar control while providing privacy. This liberates the house from the need for a front fence enabling the front garden to bestow abundant foliage on the botanically sparse neighbourhood, proposing a greener future. Slatted timber elements continue in the courtyard where a horizontal cantilevered awning integrates the building with the garden. The slats encourage deciduous vines to engulf the north-facing doors and windows and provide summer shade.
The U-shaped floorplan is designed around a central courtyard that directs winter sun into the living rooms over the double-storey neighbouring house. The courtyard also brings the beautiful natural landscape right up to the house including cooling plants and a pond. The rooms adjacent feel immersed in the garden’s wild serenity. Distant verdant views can be glimpsed across the whole site, expanding the sense of space in a compact 120m2 house on a small property.
The heavily insulated SIPs walls and roof are complemented by double glazing and thermal mass in the concrete floor. Operable internal and external blinds complete the thermally stable external envelope. Technology includes an HRV (heat recovery ventilation) system that efficiently exchanges warmth into fresh air brought into the house, an important strategy in contemporary air-tight houses. It distributes warm fresh air between all rooms allowing the whole house to be heated and cooled by only two air conditioners. The house is all-electric, with no gas, and incorporates solar power and electric vehicle charging.
The house is designed to be wheelchair accessible, single-level living with generous hallways and doorways and a relatively large bathroom with open shower, looking forward to aging in place.
The garden by Akas Landscape Architecture complements the house’s juxtaposition of the manufactured and the natural. A pond of river rocks and granite provides habitat for fish and frogs amongst a mixture of indigenous, native and exotic vegetation. Concrete sleepers provide paving and a bridge over the water before separating as they recede from the house and dispersing into nature.
Details
| Project size | 120 m2 |
| Site size | 410 m2 |
| Completion date | 2021 |
| Building levels | 1 |
Project team
| Reannon Smith | Photographer | |
| Truewood Constructions | Builder | |
| Akas Landscape Architects |