0304-L2 / Imagery / Portfolio
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Project Summary
YARRAWONGA MEWS
desired use: The development was planned to divide the hillside parcel of land into 12 residential lots with an average site area of 600 square meters. The development would create a gated community with each site as a free-hold title block.
In close association with the land developers we were involved from the very beginning to determine the lot division and service road layout, building footprints and height restrictions.
detail of occupants: The designs were developed to offer a range of sizes with the number of bedrooms ranging from 3 to 5 to cater for a cross-section of potential buyers.
special site features: The land parcel is located on the hillside with the contours bending around a NE to South aspect. The average height above sea level is 60 metres lending to fantastic ocean and port views.
local climate Issues: The Townsville area has a tropical climate with lower rainfall than other regions in the tropics. Summer months are hot and humid with bursts of monsoon rains from late December through to early April. Tropical cyclones may also develop in this season. The winter months are dominated by SE winds and blue skies, warm days and cool nights.
design challenges space requirements: Each design included an open-plan living philosophy with large outdoor decks and entertainment areas focused on capturing ocean views and oriented to the NE. Utility areas such as bathrooms, laundries and kitchens were often placed on the southern and western sides to offer shelter to the living areas from the afternoon sun and cool winter winds. Bedrooms were segregated from the open living spaces to maintain privacy and access to utility rooms.
budget requirements: The buildings had to lift the level of quality of design on the hill and set the standard for premium homes. A budget range of $600,000 to $900,000 was achieved (house and land inclusive). building style: Each of the houses were to be individual and distinctive in terms of their style, appearance and internal and external presence.
The homes were to stand out as unique designs, to offer a new benchmark in the context of prestigious lifestyles.
design & selection: All fixtures & fittings, materials and colour selections and interior designs were pre-selected by the designer as part of the design brief. This involved full specification of selection all items ranging from luminaries, tapware, door furnishings, home theatre and audio equipment including DVD players, LCD televisions and audio equipment to be offered as a complete design package.
The joinery items included the kitchens, vanities wardrobes and theatre cabinetry all individually designed and selected to compliment the different styles of each home.
relationship of building to site the site: Three major criteria dictated the buildings relationship to the site: 1. Each home must have view of the sea; 2. Entertaining and outdoor areas must be private; 3. Car access to garages.
Integrating these criteria within each site and then within the development as a whole proved to be challenging work. To aid in the design process extensive computer modeling was done which allowed exceptional control over these factors.
The computer model was generated using Autocad and started with the input of survey data to generate a full 3D terrain map. Each home design was then modeled and could be loaded onto the site with absolute precision. From here we then positioned virtual cameras inside the model to produce projected views to see how the adjacent buildings interacted with each other.
This proved to be a fantastic marketing tool as we could then superimpose real photographs of the views and present composite images showing our clients what they could see from there houses.
In fact this marketing tool proved to be so successful that all of the houses were pre-sold off the plan which is usually unheard of for custom design houses.
the design: Positioning on each site was considered to maximize prevailing breezes through the bedrooms and living areas and orientation for solar control to shelter living areas from the afternoon sun and to take advantage of ocean views from living and outdoor spaces.
energy efficiency and environmental performance Passive Design: The skillion roof design allowed for large overhangs strategically sloping downward towards the western side to give protection from the heat and glare, while still maintaining views. High vaulted ceilings promote natural airflow and convection cooling. The high louver window bays in open-plan living space and bedroom level enables hot air to rise and escape whilst letting in natural lighting. Evidence of this may be found in Lot 5, Lot 8, Lot 11 and Lot 12.
Western aspects have typically have smaller openings and/or timber louvered windows to protect the living areas from the afternoon sun. Batten screening has also been used extensively over west facing windows and outdoor zones. Evidence of this may be found in Lot 1, Lot 2, Lot 3, Lot 4, Lot 5, Lot 7, Lot 8, Lot 9, Lot 11 and Lot 12.
Building Materials: All of the homes make use of a mixture of heavy and lightweight materials, selected to suit their specific application. The majority of the homes feature lightweight materials as the main structural element with masonry walls occurring mostly in car accommodation and some sub-floor applications.
Water Management: In the design of this project we have used a variety of roof types from skillion roofs to hip roofs to flat/parapet roofs. Roof gutters have been used sparingly and only where necessary such as in the form of box gutters. The absence of roof gutters and downpipes allows the roof water to be shed evenly over the site following the natural water courses of the hillside.
design innovation and cost effectiveness Marketing Strategies: Once we had the 3D models, we were able to take the design development even one step further creating a website for the developer featuring each of the houses individually, a full list of selections, the projected images of anticipated views and each of the buildings relationship to one another.
The development is “one of a kind” in the sense that each of the houses are completely different in their appearance, with each site having different conditions to work with due to the nature of the terrain. Through careful planning and model manipulation, we were able to control the development through CAD systems which allowed accurate management of site elements and integration of each design.
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