A Compact Passive Home Constructed Round A Pepper Tree
The creation of Pepper Tree Passive Home by Alexander Symes Architect started a number of years in the past in collaboration with builder and shopper Adam Souter of Souter Constructed, who lives on the property with associate Ame Rooke-Jones, and their three younger kids.
The household’s Wollongong dwelling was drained and thermally inefficient, however functionally satisfactory. As an alternative of spending their finances on vital upgrades to the present home, they determined to construct a brand new, separate construction on the rear of the location to a Passive Home normal.
‘This meant they’d get the perfect amenity worth for his or her finances with minor efficiency primarily based upgrades to the present dwelling together with new insulation, cladding, repainting the concrete tiles a lighter color to cut back warmth acquire, and a 12kW photo voltaic panel awning that gives shade to the out of doors areas in summer season,’ says Alexander Symes, director of Alexander Symes Architect.
After the preliminary idea was developed, Adam started salvaging and storing landfill-bound supplies from his different building tasks to finally use in his dwelling.
The ensuing secondary dwelling takes the type of an elevated U-shaped constructing wrapping round an current 60-year-old tree.
‘We determined at our preliminary assembly that the pepper tree was a part of the core id of the location and preserving it will be an amazing profit to the ultimate final result, relatively than simply one other box-shaped granny flat,’ says Alexander.
Two cantilevered wings are clad with recycled shou sugi ban cladding, and every host a inexperienced roof mixing the constructing into the panorama.
Adam’s salvaged building supplies have been used all through the mission, together with on the exterior staircase constructed utilizing the roof construction of a demolished Bondi dwelling, contributing to its sustainable Passive Home normal.
The finished self-contained dwelling contains one bed room, a kitchen, dwelling space, toilet, and a laundry throughout 60 sq. metres internally. The constructing capabilities as an workplace for Adam’s rising firm, which might alternatively be rented as brief keep lodging.
In designing a secondary construction, Alexander Symes Architect have added a lot wanted usable ground house to a suburban web site with out overdeveloping or sacrificing its biophilic connection. This method gives a precedent for creating small, future proofed additions with out the large price of upgrading all current dwellings.
