Adelaide
Project Summary
A traditional hills home formerly constructed as a summer hills residence. The original symmetrical stone villa had been altered approximately 20 years ago to incorporate a rear two story addition to accommodate a master suite and kitchen living area.
The project sited within a cool climate classification meant we adopted many contemporary energy efficiency technologies.
The Project
Stage 1 Consisted of the renovation of the existing residence. Reconfiguration of the ground floor plan in addition to modernization including extensive cabinetry. Introduction of new double glazed timber door and window suites. Extensive introduction of new insulation including a hydronic wall and subfloor heating system run by an electric boiler. Power required by the boiler has been offset by the extensive power generation fitted to the new stage two addition.
Stage 2 Consisted of the construction of a two story architectural addition. Construction: Ground floor raft slab. Ground floor solid masonry walls in addition to structural steel to support a suspended 1st floor concrete reinforced slab. 1st floor combines light weight and brick veneer wall construction. Solid core filled blockwork acts both as retaining elements in addition to high strength structural piers to support a local stone veneer. Timber skillion roof frame to maximise sun orientation to accommodate 68 solar panels to a 21kw solar system. External finishes consist of local natural basket range sandstone. A very strong requirement from the client to adopt stone sourced from a local quarry. Silver top ash soffits, Black Butt stair treads was also amongst a desirable use of local (Australian) timbers. Hydronic in slab floor heating to both lower and upper floors heated by an electric heat pump boiler. Power demand for this system also largely offset by the extensive solar generation system. Internal finishes are clean with a minimalistic feel reflecting finishes form outside. The construction of polished concrete floors was carefully managed to achieve a “flat” finish to reflect true salt and pepper appearance. Extensive double glazed curtain walls of glass offer unique vistas across to the York Peninsula. The home is controlled by a sophisticated cbus integrated control systems to maximise the efficiencies of the extensive home systems. Including air-conditioning, hydronic heating, lighting, pool operation, TV and sound, home security, upper window control. Again, the architecture and roof orientation was largely driven to maximise the capacity for power generation in order to achieve little if any demand on the external power grid. Power demand is also topped up by Tesla battery storage. Power circuits have been carefully assigned to the batteries in the event of a power failure that often occur in the Adelaide hills. Careful consideration, as a local residence for 50+ years was placed upon the effective discharge of stormwater runoff. This can often be the achilles heel to many Adelaide Hills homes. You only get one chance to execute this effectively with liberal civil design. A large 150,000ltr rainwater tank offers continuous domestic water supply harvested from roof runoff. Firefighting systems have also been adopted as part of the planning consent. The construction of a cleverly detailed pool and spa was also part of the original brief. The “knife edge” water reticulation system provides seamless transition from the coping level at to the pool water level. In order to achieve this detail careful consideration was made to the location of balance tanks and pool equipment. Through careful planning we were able to incorporate all plant and equipment including the pool equipment in the same location within the plant area.
A company investment with skitebooks saw structured site safety procedures throughout the project. The project often reflected commercial style construction which warranted sound safety practices. I might add, as all projects large and small demand. Fortunately, experience in this arena made for a clear understanding of these requirements. One of our strong points, which could also be attributed to a marketing device, we maintain an exceptionally clean working environment with a belief it will be reflected in the quality of workmanship!
Where possible waste from the project was sorted and dumped at the local recycling waste facility. The local Heathfield waste depot is an exceptionally well disciplined facility to accommodate recycling of building waste materials.
This project called upon 30 years of experience. At times the project demanded the collaborative knowledge of a well connected, well experienced team of professionals. Managing this process was key for the life of the building.
This project was unique in that the clients were particularly hands on with an understanding any decision made had implications to planning, architecture, construction, trade availability, engineering and constructability. As a result, through sound communication we arrived at the end with an outstanding relationship between client and builder. Value for money, in my opinion, can only be considered in the expenditure up front relative to cost neutral running costs.
We believe this project is a truly iconic hills home that has been constructed in a manner to reflect the true character and long Gevity of the period homes before it.