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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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Designing solutions
DecorHabitusliving Editor

Designing solutions

Designing and building a house these days isn’t as simple as dreaming up your ideal home and making it. Rules and regulations, heritage conditions and existing site constraints can be highly restrictive but often the best designs are those that turn these restrictions into design opportunities.


 
 
 
Something as simple as a building product can inspire a solution that not only meets the practical criteria, but adds to the aesthetic as well.

The brief for this coastal family home in Sydney’s Northern Beaches was “a contemporary, energy- and water-efficient home that has the elusive ‘wow’ factor and utilises the expansive sea views”. 

 
 
 
 
But along with the potential vistas of the site came potential view-sharing issues with neighbours that needed to be addressed. Council policies also included a restriction of 40 per cent maximum allowable site coverage (which included the building, balconies and driveway), an 8.5m height limit, setbacks on all sides and a building envelope. 
 
The sloping site provided part of the answer to the neighbours’ sight line concerns; and COLORBOND® Ultra steel did the rest. From the street level, the roof level was kept low – as if on a single storey dwelling – which meant looking for an alternative roofing material. 
 
 
Architect Peter Downes of Peter Downes Designs says, “I personally like the iconic informality of COLORBOND® Ultra steel, it suits the beach house design and coastal lifestyle. There’s simplicity in installation and no joints or gaps for leaks to get through.”

Combining long-term durability, high formability and exceptional corrosion resistance, the COLORBOND® Ultra steel in the colour Woodland Grey® was the perfect choice for this site. 

 
With its bold sweeping forms, it becomes both a solution and a feature.

This house won the 2010 Building Designer Association NSW award for best new residential building over 450 square metres. 

 
COLORBOND® Steel 
1800 022 999


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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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