CUSTOM-DESIGNED AND -MADE STEEL STRING STAIRCASE THE RESULT IS A SPACIOUS AND PLEASANT HOME PROVIDING YEAR-ROUND COMFORT The result is a spacious and pleasant home about half a dozen native banksia trees near the providing year-round comfort, created with a focus front door that we needed to protect and preserve. on sustainability and solar passive design. These trees became an integral part of the finished The HIA judges were impressed, noting that by landscape design and, for the owners, are almost retaining most of the existing home and following as important as the house itself.’ the slope of the property, the extended home is Construction of the home took only 16 weeks, resource-conscious with minimal interference to the Craig says. During this time he implemented THE HOME OPTIMISES natural drainage of the land. many of his company’s key solar passive design NATURAL LIGHT, principles which seek to optimise natural light, WARMTH, COOLING The original cottage in MacMasters warmth, cooling and airflow, thus reducing the need AND AIRFLOW Beach was a much-loved home which for artificial lighting, heating and cooling. had been in the one family for 50 years Specific measures included the installation of low emissivity (low-e) glass, maximisation of the north elevation and extension of the roof eaves to provide In fact, drainage was one of the challenges that greater shade. He also installed R2 insulation to all Craig faced during construction. ‘Being below wall framing and R3.5 to the ceiling roof cavity as the level of the road, the block suffered from well as connecting the house to natural gas for hot stormwater erosion in heavy rain with water flowing water and heating. under the old house,’ he says. ‘Energy efficiency is the main solar passive ‘This required extensive drainage so that it would design principle,’ he says. ‘I always tell clients that not flow under the extension. In addition, there were if we keep a home well-sealed and insulated with a NOVEMBER 2018 HOUSING 25