16 Tiny & tropical style; eco display homes; green facades; local materials; 8.6 Star apartments; SIPs solar extension; future-proofing; concrete floors guide; Passive House in Wanaka NZ + more

OFF-GRID COASTAL LIVING MODULAR & PREFAB

37

ISSUE 37 • SUMMER 2016/17 AUD$11.95 • NZ$12.95

SANCTUARYMAGAZINE.ORG.AU

WIN A home battery storage system from EnphaseOffer open to Australian and New Zealand residents only, details p40

INSIDEHigh comfort, low bill homes Summer shade planting Affordable & flexible floor plans

30+ storage & shelving ideas

30

j

Stunning coastal views make sunrise worth waking up for! The farmhouse is clustered with the water storage and farm shed (which also houses the renewable energy system). The site is exposed and buffered by winds year-round and at some stage they will add wind power to the off-grid solar energy system.

Modular, prefab & off-grid

31

Designed to be transportable by truck and barge to French Island – one of Victoria’s most inaccessible places – this prefabricated farmhouse is no ordinary coastal retreat.

32

FRENCH ISLANDHOUSE PROFILE

WHEN LOOKING ONLY AT A MAP, IT’S hard to comprehend the remoteness of Helen and Ken Brown’s farm on French Island. Located just 60 kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD it looks close, and even has a regular ferry and train service connecting it to the city. But unlike Western Port Bay’s more famous Phillip Island, there is no bridge link to the mainland. If the ferry can’t run, due to weather or maintenance, the island’s tiny community of 116 permanent residents can be isolated for days, and occasionally weeks at a time. Add to this the reality of no local government or rubbish collection, no town water or power supply, and one general store, and it starts to make sense why

it’s sometimes referred to as Victoria’s ‘forgotten’ island. “It’s Australia’s remotest place within an hour’s drive of a major city,” laughs Helen, who bought the 43-hectare property on a whim decades ago, when the lot was part of a series of ‘fire sale’ auctions. Half the island is national park and over the years they’ve camped on the property and spent time revegetating wildlife corridors with Landcare grants. They always nurtured the idea of building and living there permanently, and the right time arrived with retirement. “We wanted a change of lifestyle, a much more active one,” says Ken. They engaged Lai Cheong Brown – the architectural practice of their son Rowan and daughter-in-law Christina

– to design their new home and manage the build. It was clear from the beginning the project was going to be a challenging one. The house needed to be practical for a working farm, off-grid, suitable for retirement and flexible enough to cater for regular visitors who might become stranded. The site is exposed to winds from every direction and the views, although magnificent, are to the south. But most difficult of all was access: “Everything has to be brought over by barge from Corinella or on the passenger ferry from Stony Point,” says Rowan, “including houses.” The whole build would pivot on the size and capacity of French Island’s privately operated barge service.

x

The prefabricated farmhouse was delivered as five modules, and over two days was transported by truck and barge to Helen and Ken’s remote French Island farm. The entire build pivoted on the size and capacity of the barge, as it is the only way to bring vehicles, and in this case houses, onto the island.

WORDS Kulja Coulston

PHOTOGRAPHY Jaime Diaz-Berrio

33

jl

Unable to get a crane on-site, the modules were delivered by truck, backed up and clipped together. They arrived fully prefabricated with joinery, toilets and windows in place.

j

The on-site works – including affixing the cladding and connecting the essential services such as the wormfarm waste system – were minimal and took less than a month.

34

After several months investigating alternative approaches, they dismissed a traditional build as cost prohibitive; they couldn’t accommodate builders on the island for months at a time. Instead, they settled on a geometric, modular design that could be prefabricated and delivered. As luck would have it, the ideal prefabricator – Ecoliv – was located in nearby Wonthaggi and shared a passion for sustainability. “All of our own designs come 7 Star minimum with solar hot water, solar power, water tanks and double glazing as standard inclusions,” says building designer and Ecoliv owner Ashley Beaumont. Working together, Rowan and Ashley carefully configured Lai Cheong Brown’s design into five transportable modules to fit the precise dimensions of the barge. The modules were designed to be clipped together on-site, requiring only a few weeks of on-site work to connect services. At 140 square metres the house is

modest and has a flexible floor plan. The modules are arranged around a central deck that Rowan says provides year-round relief from the elements. “We needed some protected outdoor space. Even a mild French Island wind is strong!” The ‘donut’ pattern serves two other functions: it lets natural light into all of the rooms and makes it easy to create two separate bedroom wings that can be zoned. Rowan explains: “Glazing in the corridors is for circulation and to get some moderated north light into the rooms from the courtyard. A couple of doors allow different sections of the house to be closed off when people are not home, which reduces the load on the two heaters.” Before delivery, each module was fully fitted out in the Ecoliv factory. The bamboo floors were laid, lights hung, and kitchen and bathroom joinery and fittings in place. “We had to leave the cladding off though, to allow us to get more width onto the barge

– even down to 20mm was critical,” says Ashley. With such precision in play, loading the modules from a truck to a moving barge was the most nerve-racking aspect of the entire project. It took two days to deliver all of the modules, and success relied on the inter-generational wisdom of the truck and barge operators. First, a primemover/tractor unit was shipped over on the barge ready to unload the modules, while another truck backed Helen and Ken’s house over the beach and effectively unloaded the trailer and module onto a moving target. “It’s the most difficult and exciting project we’ve been involved with,” says Ashley. Cost and the unique access constraints led them to opt for a wholly lightweight timber-framed structure: “The fee to get concrete here is more expensive than the concrete itself,” says Ken. To compensate for thermal mass, the roof, wall and floor cavities are filled with insulation and all

FRENCH ISLANDHOUSE PROFILE

j

Instead of verandahs, an open-air deck at the heart of the home provides a protected outdoor space and lets natural light into all of the living spaces; the arrangement provides views outwards to the coast and inwards to the connected courtyard.

35

FRENCH ISLANDHOUSE PROFILE

j

The south-facing, open-plan living room has minimal glazing to the west, and extensive glazing to the south for coastal views. Heavy-duty curtains are used in winter to help retain warmth; and walls, ceilings and floors are filled with insulation.

v

The south-facing double-glazed windows are fixed, and provide stunning views over the bay to Phillip Island. Split system air conditioners in the bedrooms are used for cooling in summer, while fans and selective use of cross breezes are sufficient for cooling the living space.

x

The open-plan living space has a kitchen at one end and the living area at the other. Everything, except the furniture and the wood-fired oven, was delivered already installed: “At 300 kilograms it would have had a strange effect on the centre of balance of the module,” says the architect.

36

FLOOR PLAN

LEGEND

1 Bedroom2 Living3 Dining4 Kitchen5 Bathroom6 Ensuite7 Laundry8 Courtyard9 Entry10 Farm shed/energy system 11 Water tank12 Ramped access13 Solar panels14 Solar hot water

windows are double-glazed. “One of the balances was between capturing the views and getting northern light into the house as well,” says Ashley. “If you turned your back on the views it would be a massive mistake, but that made it hard to get to 7 Stars even though we insulated everywhere we could.” Helen and Ken moved into their house in earnest in September 2015 and have been comfortably producing enough electricity for their needs with their 3kW solar system, but have a generator and gas backup for the inevitable weeks of stormy weather and a house full of guests. “However, it was more about water management than power management,” says Rowan. “If you have to, you can bring a litre of fuel onto the island – but you can’t make it rain more. Fortunately we have 100,000 litres of water storage.” French Island is a place like no other, but Rowan says the inspired design of Helen and Ken’s house is already generating interest from others with similarly difficult sites and they have had enquiries from people in New Zealand and Tasmania. Ashley says Ecoliv recently shipped two halves of a prefabricated house over Bass Strait on the Spirit of Tasmania. “Once we managed to tick off the French Island project, we can pretty much do anything.”

FRENCH ISLANDHOUSE PROFILE

v

It’s a working farm with bees, alpacas but primarily cattle – and the farmhouse is self-sufficient for energy, water and waste. The 43-hectare site has also been extensively revegetated for native wildlife, including the island’s large koala population and rare long-nosed potoroo.

1

11

1

2 3 4

5 5

67

8

12

10

11 11

13

14

9

Sustainable FeaturesCredits

37

HOT WATER – Rinnai Solar evacuated tubes

connected to 250L Rinnai preheat cylinder with Rinnai gas booster and Rinnai Smartstart system.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

– Fully off-grid with a backup petrol generator for emergencies (Subaru RG4300iS)

– 3kW 12 x 245W Bosch 245 3BB PV Panels, Selectronic SP Pro 5kW 48 volt inverter, 8 x Century Yuasa Enersun SSR 700-6 700Ah batteries and Morningstar MPPT 80A regulator

– Plans to add a wind turbine, to take advantage of island’s infamous south-westerlies.

WATER SAVING – A&A Worm Farm waste system,

with water runoff dispersed through reed beds

– Rainwater supplies all water needs as the island has no water supply: 115,000L from 2 x 20,000L tanks, 2 x 15,000L and 1 x 45,000L (includes firefighting water)

– Rinnai Smartstart System to circulate hot water avoid waste at the tap

– UV rainwater water purification, Puretec Hybrid H7

– Astra Walker water fittings, ranging between 3-star and 6-star WELS

PASSIVE DESIGN / HEATING &

COOLING

– Donut-shaped design with central courtyard maximises natural ventilation for summer cooling, and allows year-round natural lighting through northern glazing

DESIGNER

Lai Cheong Brown

BUILDER

Ecoliv

PROJECT TYPE

New build

PROJECT LOCATION

French Island, Western Port Bay, VIC

SIZE

House 192 m2 (including deck); Shed 84 m2 ;Land 43 hectares

BUILDING STAR RATING

6 Stars

French Island —Specifications

PAINTS, FINISHES & FLOOR

COVERINGS – Dulux low-VOC Wash & Wear

paints to internal walls– Sikkens Cetol Supernatural to

internal timber– Cutek CD50 clear finish to

external timbers (requires regular maintenance due to coastal location).

LIGHTING – LED lighting throughout.

OTHER ESD FEATURES – Prefabricated home built

locally in Wonthaggi, to reduce waste and delays. Designed to be transportable in five modular sections to reduce truck and barge journeys and costs

– Two Landcare grants used to revegetate large tracts of pasture providing habitat corridors for local wildlife, including the rare long-nosed potoroo

– Stanley Donard woodfired combustion stove for cooking and some heating

– House uses ‘universal design’ principles to ensure it remains accessible into retirement

– Bee hives and food-producing gardens

– Owners use public transport (ferry and train) to reach the city; and they share a ‘mainland’ car to reduce vehicle ownership.

– Two bedroom wings can be zoned from the living space, to minimise heating and cooling, and adapt to the fluctuating numbers of inhabitants

– Minimal glazing to the west for cooling breezes only; south windows kept as small as practicable while still capturing water views, with heavy-duty curtains used to improve thermal comfort

– Deciduous vines for summer shading to be installed in central courtyard.

ACTIVE HEATING & COOLING

– Morso Modern 7642 wood-fired space heater

– Daikin split system air-conditioning system to three bedrooms and study (a 4mxs80lvma multi-condenser with 4 x 2kw indoor units)

– 2 x Big Ass ‘Haiku’ ceiling fans in living area.

BUILDING MATERIALS – Bamboo flooring from BT

Bamboo – Bluescope Colorbond spandek

cladding – Bluescope Zincalume spandek

roofing – Woodform architectural

expression cladding and decking, FSC-spotted gum

– Insulation: Ceiling Kingspan Air-Cell and Knauf Earthwool insulation R5; walls R2.5 Knauf Earthwool insulation; floors PracticaMMC Masterfloor R2.7 insulation.

WINDOWS & GLAZING – Double-glazed AWS Vantage/

Elevate windows, aluminium with powdercoat finish

– Double-glazed Velux (VS 2004 C01) skylights to laundry/ bathrooms.