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delight
A Melbourne Californian
Bungalow is given a contemporary
sustainable makeover
winter deck
balcony
study bed 2 study / retreat
living
pantry
kitchen
guest / bed 3
bed 1 bathroom dining
laundry summer deck
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... a good-looking building that doesn’t necessarily identify itself as a
sustainable building, because it doesn’t look low or hi-tech; it just looks good
locations in the stairwell and upstairs to facilitate one-kilowatt solar system has helped to make gauged in order to let winter sun through (to warm
passive cooling: when nighttime creates cooler the family more conscious of, and conservative in, the walls) and to keep summer sun out (to keep
air currents, the stairwell acts as a heat shaft by their energy consumption. “Even our two year old the walls cool). The effect is visually arresting and,
drawing warm air from downstairs to upstairs, son, Xavier, turns the lights off when he leaves the simple as it is, puts a contemporary spin on this
where the warm air can escape through the room!” Californian Bungalow while simultaneously helping
open windows. Steffen observes that the house is “a good-looking to regulate the internal temperature upstairs.
As a consequence of building a second storey, building that doesn’t necessarily identify itself as a Rammed earth was used for the extension’s
the Popps made an aesthetic decision to install sustainable building, because it doesn’t look low central wall as well as the east-and west-facing
slanted loft-style ceilings in the upstairs rooms. or hi-tech; it just looks good.” Perhaps no feature external walls. Rammed earth has a high thermal
These turned out to have a practical benefit of the house illustrates this more vividly than the mass, meaning it holds heat well, only releasing
because the north-facing roof is the perfect spot to facade of the upstairs extension. Slender, elegant it when the surrounding temperature drops. The
mount solar photovoltaic panels. Consequently, the timber battens run horizontally along the exterior walls have been insulated on the outside to improve
roof was built at a pitch to maximise solar access of the north-facing walls, which face the street. The their insulation value and aside from its excellent
for the panels. Nash says that merely having the distance between each slat has been specifically thermal mass, the rammed earth is a strong
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The elegant
timber battons are
designed to let the
sun through to warm
the walls in winter
and keep the walls
cool in summer.
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Whenever we’ve been away, it’s always really nice to come back here. Even when
it’s pouring rain, you see it bouncing off the deck, but inside here, we’re cosy
aesthetic feature of the house’s interior. The walls Kyneton in regional Victoria. The external timber air (like a fridge working in reverse) and expels cold
are a sandy colour, with traces of mica that glint battens are made from western red cedar that is air back into the atmosphere until the water in the
in the sunlight. There’s a textural quality to the sustainably grown and harvested. storage tank reaches the optimum temperature.
surface and it’s easy to see why Meaghan doesn’t The ambient temperature of the central living The experience of renovating their house to make
want to hang paintings on these walls. area is generally comfortable through the year. it more environmentally sustainable was often
Materials were sourced locally where possible In winter, the east-and north-facing windows challenging. “Builders today are starting to realise
in order to reduce the level of embodied energy in maximise the sun’s light. The rammed earth walls they need to think outside the square and work with
the house’s construction and lifecycle. To that end, capture the heat from the sun and slowly releases different materials but at the time we were
the Popps contracted a local artisan to make the it during the night. On cold mornings the Popps use renovating, they were resistant to new ideas,” says
concrete benches in the kitchen and bathrooms. a hydronic heating system to prewarm the house Meaghan. Yet for the Popps it has been a rewarding
The timber flooring, outside decking and the stairs before daylight. experience. “It’s a great place to be in. Whenever
are made from sugar gum, a plantation-grown The gas water heater that supplies the hydronic we’ve been away, it’s always really nice to come back
native hardwood harvested in South Australia. system is integrated with a heat pump. here. Even when it’s pouring rain, you see it bouncing
The rammed earth for the walls was sourced from The heat pump absorbs heat from the surrounding off the deck, but inside here, we’re cosy.”
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The living room area is kept warm in winter
thanks to high levels of insulation, double-
glazed windows and the concrete benches
and rammed earth walls that absorb the sun’s
heat and slowly releases it back into the room.
Designer: Steffen Welsch Architects www.steffenwelsch.com.au
Location: Thornbury, VIC
Photographer: Rhiannon Slatter
Features: n 1kW Origin Energy grid-connected photovoltaic power system n Fixed and retractable external sunshades
n Greenheat integrated hot water and hydronic heating system n SilverScreen Verosol internal window blinds
n 340 litres Quantum Energy hot water heat pump n Rammed earth walls
and Rinnai instantaneous gas hot water n S ustainably managed plantation
n Hydrotherm hydronic heating panels Sugar Gum flooring, stairs & decking,
n Auspoly batt wall and ceiling insulation and Western Red Cedar battens
n Recycled Styrofoam from old industrial fridges ceiling insulation n Asko four-star water rating dishwasher
n Protherm Reflecta Guard and foil-backed blanket roof insulation and LED downlights
n Moen double-glazed windows
n Optimal cross-ventilation
n External courtyard maximising sunlight
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