Our eco abode with passive solar design

I’m excited today to be sharing my personal architecture journey with you!

Hubby & I have followed the work of Bourne Blue Architects for many years so it was exciting to give them the challenge of transforming our ugly duckling into a swan while incorporating their signature style of understated simplicity, extensive use of concrete and timber and sustainable principles.

The original house was brick veneer and built in the 70’s and we were looking to keep the house and add an extension onto the rear which would face north (ideal for passive solar design in the southern hemisphere) and have an array of sustainable features.

We provided the architects with our wish list, including:

• Strong connection with the outdoors
• Warmth, light, privacy
• Solar passive design – northern orientation, shading, cross ventilation, thermal mass etc
• Cohesian between existing house and the additions (not like a space ship has landed on the back!)
• Low maintenance

We also gave them a mood board including images of other homes we loved. Here are a few of the images we provided:

We waited excitedly for them to come back with a concept. A few weeks passed and they told us they were ready to present their concept. After seeing the inspiration above, you might guess we were a bit shocked to get this:

It looked, well, like a hospital wing. A week or so of heart palpitations later, we got images with materials added:

It’s an understatement to say that it was a MAJOR relief to see the finishes and we were happy to proceed.

The house has now been finished for over a year and we absolutely love living in it. The polished concrete floors act as thermal mass to absorb the sun’s rays during winter and keep the house warm well into the evening. Cross ventilation brings through beautiful north-east breezes during the warmer months. We had no idea before hand how amazing the house would feel to live in.

In the finished photos you can see how close the architectural renders were to the real thing.