Projects

Chifley Semi

The renovation of this semi recently received a Commendation and came second in the Chris Reardon Sustainable Building category at the BDAA National Design Awards. This recognises the impact of updating this from a 0 rated to highest rated energy efficient home in Canberra, whilst updating the interior by opening it up and modernising the spaces. With little impact on the site and house structure, we created a modern, energy efficient home. The clients went from not being able to use upstairs in summer, to only using the air con twice. Their bills went through the floor. 
The clients decided to move to Queensland for family reasons and were amazed to get a 17% premium on their home, even when taking the renovations into consideration, compared to the exact same unrenovated versions. This shows that not only does careful planning allow for a transformation of the home from livability and comfort, but it also makes financial sense.

reimagined terrace

reimagined Surry Hills terrace. Taking a near derelict terrace, and updating for modern living for a young family, this was a complete gut and re-design. Termites had destroyed the interior, except for the beautiful staircase, allowing us to open it up to catch north and western sun, provide indoor/outdoor living and three huge bedrooms for their growing family and international guests.

little ray of sunshine

It may have been that they contacted us to open the house up as it was uninsulated, with no sun and a series of pokey spaces, many of them unused/unusable. However, the whole renovation was inspired by the client's love of sunshine yellow.
The transformation of this home is one of our favourites- especially when the clients tell us they don't want to go on holidays anymore as they just love being at home! Cannot get a better compliment than that.
By insulating, updating the windows and introducing heat pump mechanicals, the house lives beautifully, year round. By completely reworking the flow of the living spaces to let the kitchen access the rear living space- which was used once a year, but is now used all the time- and creating casual and formal dining areas, and an open nook at the front of the house, the area is now flooded with light throughout, completely changing the feel, regardless of the updates.
If you go through the photos, you will note all of the other upgrades as well, including a library for the owner- a school teacher. This was an amazing project to be involved in.

Cooma- Pavillion House

Cooma Pavillion House

Kalkite- Nordic Chalet

A perfect site overlooking Jindabyne creates the perfect setting for this Nordic inspired ski chalet. The whole family can enjoy, or it can be separated into two with main 3 bedroom space overlooking the water, with the separate 2 bedroom unit looking north to the nearby mountain.
This has been designed to be fully passive house, take advantage of the magnificent views,  to be multi use and yet sit lightly on the land.

Kalkite Nordic Chalet

reimagined office

This office/living space was recently a finalist at the BDAA National Awards for projects under $100,000. It was created from an unused space under a balcony. Large triple glazed windows to let the garden view and light in, but also to modulate the heat and keep the noise out. Blow in insulation in the walls and ceiling, thermal mass to hold in the heat for the floor, Baltic pine beams and highlight walls and mechanical ventilation allow the space to be healthy and comfortable, with a fresh, calm atmosphere. 

Pavillion- 1 bedroom and office/yoga space

This open and airy home is open to the world. Full of light and space, the open area living spaces are surrounded by glass, opening up to whatever view inspires you. Perfect for open spaces and especially for guest accommodation.  The rear of the guest house can be an office, yoga studio, games room or whatever you need, or removed if you want a smaller space.

Pavillion

Tura Beach House

hillside concept

This home was for a retired couple who wanted a sophisticated, calm oasis to move to out of the city, with multi use areas for family and guests to visit and stay, as well as the option to rent out a secondary space to provide some extra income. To capture the magnificent northern views and optimise for both summer and winter also necessitated flexibility of the shading systems. The results are a pared back, light filled space full of natural materials, focusing on the views whilst at the same time protecting from the elements.

Hillside Haven

Williams

Hackett

upcoming project- Moss Vale

Designed for a young family leaving Sydney for the space of the southern highlands, this house will passive, almost off-grid with a modernised rural style to fit with the location. Abundant sun and views from all angles, this will be a big change for this inner city Sydney family. Completion est. 2022.

Moss Vale passive home

Kalkite- Hidden Home

A perfect site overlooking Jindabyne creates the perfect setting for this Aspen inspired ski chalet. The whole family can enjoy, or it can be separated into two with main 3 bedroom space overlooking the water and mountains, with the separate 2 bedroom unit settling underneath to also have access to the views.
This has been designed to be fully passive house, take advantage of the magnificent views, to be multi use and yet sit lightly on the land by being built slightly into the hill to be more private and let nature, not the home, dominate the spaces above it..

Kalkite Hidden Home

Mid century entertainer

Goulburn Getaway

Out of town getaway for busy Sydney family.

Moss Vale- mid century

Moss Vale mid century

reimagined balcony

The clients are renovating an amazing 1960s Canberra classic, but needed a pergola to deal with the NW sun before the build. They wanted to be able to use it post build with minimal issues.
As we are designing the new property, and understanding the style when done, we designed a pared back, clean, sleek pergola almost 4m wide.
As this was to be reused, for summer we suggested putting a bamboo reed cover over the pergola manually, and then taking down in late March to allow for flexibility and cost effectiveness.
The pergola was screwed together, so that it can all be pulled apart and reassembled easily post renovation. Once reinstalled post renovation, an automated, sensor driven screen system will be installed along the top of the beams, providing all of the flexibility a pergola in Canberra needs to either shade or allow the sun to enter the house.
In the summer of 2019/20, this reduced indoor temperatures by almost 15deg, and the concrete balcony was also more than 15deg cooler throughout. It is also the first time since the clients bought the property 7 years ago that they were able to use the front of their house in summer. All from a simple pergola.....

Solar Butterfly- 2 bedroom

The Solar Butterfly is designed to capture the sun throughout the day, both in the home and for your solar array. With two generous bedrooms, a luxury bathroom and exquisite fittings and finishes throughout the home, the Solar Butterfly is a home away from home. And with energy ratings of up to 9 stars, it can easily achieve NetZero or off grid requirements. With two designer palettes to choose from, you can have your own designer two bedroom space to live in, provide for family, rent out or set up for eco-tourism.

Solar Butterfly - 2 bedroom

MCM Style

With its timeless mid century modern lines, materials and colours, these units were designed to seamlessly fit in to any location, complementing or contrasting a nearby dwelling, or standing alone or in clusters as a statement of design and simplicity. Indoor outdoor flow, large windows, a window seat for the 2 bedroom version and two designer palettes make this a favourite for any situation.

MCM Style - 1 and 2 bedroom

Nordic Twist- 1 and 2 bedroom

Strong lines, indoor outdoor living and generous living spaces define our Nordic Twist. With an intriguing combination of lines and materials, this certainly grabs your attention- and it achieves up to 9 star energy efficiency. Perfect for coastal or rural settings alike, this lends itself to eco-tourism, AirBnB and more.

Nordic Twist - 1 and 2 bedroom

ZehnHaus- the 10 star home

Our little energy efficient superstar. The ZehnHaus combines strong lines with unparalleled energy efficiency, thermal comfort and health outcomes. Achieving 10 star rating in any location in Australia, adaptable living dimensions to accommodate any age or disability this is perfect for an outdoor space for elderly family members, eco-tourism, AirBnB. 
With only 14 spaces having achieved a 10 star rating in Australia, the next one(s) could be yours.

ZehnHaus - the 10 star home

The Splinter- 1 and 2 bedroom

The Splinter - 1 and 2 bedroom

upcoming project- Hackett

A garden/nature loving family want to create a highly sustainable, healthy home with as much connection to nature as possible. The brief included both a main and secondary residence, a sense of calm, and a 'Philosopher's walk' for their knock down, rebuild in Canberra's north.

Hackett - upcoming project

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