Seascape Designs

Seascape Designs

Long Island Quay Dunsborough Lakes

This home was built for a young couple who purchased one of the last lakeside blocks in Dunsborough Lakes. The site didn’t offer great orientation so we had to incorporate as much passive solar as possible to suit this particular design. As the front of the block faces the lake in the SW and the back faces the NE we had to somehow get as much of the winter northern sun into the house as possible.

The best option was to turn the house around compared to the rest of the street. By doing this the front door double storey void entry was at the back facing the NE. The big double storey void area allows the natural daylight into the center of the house downstairs and upstairs. By placing windows in the right position we managed to bring the northern winter sun into the house. At the entry there is a 5m high tile wall offering a thermal mass which the winter sun can hit and heat up during the day then release the heat at night. Using high rated Earth wool insulation in the walls and roof plus Reflector Guard insulation under the roof, we could ensure the house keeps cooler in summer and warmer in the winter. Thoughtfully situated louver windows allows for good cross flow ventilation offering excellent heat release in the heat of summer assisted by the use of ceiling fans.

This house has its own unique individual design to suit the block and the owners, using a wide range of materials, concrete slab, renewable sustainable plantation timber frames to hidden flat colorbond roof. There are 6 different types of external cladding. Colorbond trim deck vertical cladding, Scyon Linea weatherboards, Scyon Axon cladding, JH Easylap, JH Blueboard rendered and a recycled Jarrah plank feature wall. The home is solar ready for when the owners can afford to get panels on their roof. Hot water is supplied by an energy efficient Quantum Heat pump. The home owners had hoped to incorporate rain water tanks into the design to support the home and gardens but due to the smaller sized blocks found it too difficult to do so.

We used our waste management plan throughout the 12 month build and saved 2/3 of the usual building waste going to land fill. Materials with low embodied energy and sustainably sourced materials were used throughout this project. Water wise plumbing fittings, energy efficient appliances and energy efficient LED lighting were used throughout the home.

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