The House on the Hill – Passive Solar Home in Beverley
BDAWA 2020 Design Awards
Winner "Best Residential Design up to $500,000"
Winner “Best Rural Design”
Finalist “Overall Design Excellence”
This passive solar, energy efficient home was designed for a young family in Beverley who wanted a bespoke home that incorporated language and materials appropriate to its rural setting and had a strong connection to the land.
Inspired by the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape and the local vernacular, the house sits lightly with a sense of belonging in its environment. The house settles into the hillside, turning its back to the cold south and opening up to the north, taking advantage of views, natural light and winter sun.
The house is orientated to take advantage of the natural solar path ensuring excellent passive solar gain in winter. The staggered floor plan offers shelter from prevailing winds for outdoor living areas. Indoor living spaces open directly onto outdoor living with extended views over the landscape beyond.
Three separate skillion roofs over the living wing, the bedroom wing and the outdoor living area create a dynamic, contemporary aesthetic. These are carefully positioned to provide protection from sun, wind, and rain. An elevated deck runs along the front of the house allowing the natural terrain to continue below, casting a deep shadow so the house appears to float above the landscape. The master suite opens onto an east facing parent’s deck. At night, the lights of Beverly town can be seen across the valley.
“We hired Irene and Niall after 3 years of contemplating, comparing and ultimately rejecting various project home builders. Our brief was a simple family home that was truly solar passive, but also made the most of our western views in rural Beverley. We had realised we would not get a functional result by modifying somebody else’s plan, or worse, trying to do it ourselves, so it was with huge relief (not to mention excitement) that we discovered that Irene and Niall could provide exactly what we needed. Their vision and design response to the site and brief was incredible, and we are frequently awed by the clever design elements within our floorplan that we simply could never have imagined. We have had some very valuable meetings (both on and off site), and we have always felt our ideas/concerns/comments have been considered and responded to in a professional and respectful way. We are currently at the Development Application stage and are very excited to be moving forward with our build.”
Kathryn & Charlie
