The traditional Queenslander is a great example of architecture responding to climate. With deep verandahs, light-weight construction and elevated off the ground, the designs are perfect for encouraging a cool breeze and creating cool spaces to retreat during the heat of the day. Unfortunately, this home, while in the Queenslander style, was not designed with these considerations in mind. Built from brick and with no verandah, it took a reorientation and reinterpretation of the Queenslander to make it work in harmony with the site and climate...
"Internally it was almost the opposite of what it should be. It was around the wrong way. So the main objective was to reconfigure the layout, the program of the house, without changing any of the wall locations." - Daniel Hudson, Jackson Teece Director.
The architect and owner, Director of Jackson Teece, Daniel Hudson, lived in the existing home for six years before deciding to tackle the renovation. The eco-friendly addition is designed to passively deal with Brisbane's sometimes stuffy sub-tropical climate the way a traditional Queenslander would, but reconnect the home to the backyard.
With sustainability in mind, the design aimed to retain the existing masonry home in its entirety to reduce waste, while adding new spaces around to suit the owners' lifestyle. A carport to the front, a study, bedroom with ensuite bathroom and store underneath the existing home, and new north-facing, open-plan living spaces to the rear, connecting to the garden. The addition of these spaces helps to reorient the home to the backyard with the rear pavilion acting as a flexible indoor/outdoor space designed to connect to the backyard and pool.
The new secure entry and stair created from timber battens allow the home to be left open for ventilation without posing a security risk. Angled timber blades wrap around the east and west sides of the rear pavilion to shade it from the sun. The angle of these blades was modelled by the architect to let the sun in during winter while eliminating the sun during summer. Bays of louvre windows draw cool air from the pool and encourage cooling breezes from the bay, while louvres positioned up high allow hot air to escape. By cocooning the original home in new, shaded, light-weight spaces, the additions replicate the way a traditional Queenslander works, with the ability to open up and purge hot air in summer or bunker down for shelter during winter.
"Efficiency in use of materials, such as the re-purposing of porcelain and stone slab off-cuts, required pre-planning and careful overseeing of manufacture to ensure reduced waste. Considered selection of plantation timbers, inclusion of rainwater tanks for garden irrigation and installation of a solar array was also undertaken to limit this project's short and long-term environmental impacts."
Gresham Street House transforms a home which did not function well in its climate into a home which mimics the techniques of a traditional Queenslander to create a comfortable space year-round. "The family now benefit from a house that responds to their daily lives; the sequence of leaving for school or work and equally returning home, a common family recreation space, but also alternate spaces that can be shut down for privacy or to get away."
Existing Floor Plan
New Floor Plan
Sections
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