Lower Line House
The Lower Line House starts low at the street and gets lower.
The project is the renovation of a well loved brick, stone and timber mid century house with a classic low pitched skillion roof . The new rear roof follows the form of the existing, allowing the house to retain a very humble street presence.
Views through the house are directed downwards as the site drops away towards the rear. Spaces in the house grow in volume and importance by virtue of the lower floor. The garden acts as the focal point upon entry, and provides the pull to invite people to move down the site and towards the main indoor and outdoor spaces.
The most obvious design move in the house was to situate the main room on the south boundary with a roof and glazing opening to the north. Carefully designed overhangs mean sun comes in during the coldest 6 months and is excluded for the warmest months. The polished concrete floor provides thermal mass which benefits the house in all seasons. This one simple move to provide passive thermal comfort via extremely simple geometry before any active solutions are employed is possibly the most significant aspect of the house.
Efficient active solutions include 10KW PV, Battery storage, car charging, reverse cycle AC, ceiling fans in all rooms and 10KL water storage. There is a slow combustion wood heater as the gathering point in the main living space
In material terms, the Lower Line House uses relatively common materials in a considered way that celebrates the inherent properties of each. Low E double glazed recycled hardwood windows, passively moderate the internal environment. Ceilings are all lined with hardwood battens spaced to allow acoustic absorption and contribute to a sense of calmness.
The house is intended to be inconspicuous, perhaps anonymous, for the sake of the broader aim of inhabiting the garden and sitting quietly within its street.
Project Team : Matt Elkan, Hayley Skelton, Gill Gan, Claudia Yang, Lauren Maley
Builder : Lighthouse Building
Engineer : SDA
Hydraulics : IDC
Recycled Hardwood Doors : AHJ.
Lighting : Tovo
Landscape Architect : Even Spaces
Photographs : Clinton Weaver
