H G my ideal house
166 | AUSTRALIAN HOUSE & GARDEN
< a private two-storey block at the front
and a single-level glass pavilion that
hosts the living zones and extends out
into the garden. It’s through this
flexible layout that the foundations
for a cool home have been laid.
“North-facing orientation is the keyto a home that’s cool in summer and
warm in winter,” says Andrew La,
national housing design director for
Mirvac. “Madeleine’s design can be
adjusted to face north on any block.”
With the orientation correct, otheraspects of passive cooling fall into
place. The large expanses of glass, for
example, are protected by shading and
eaves precisely calculated to block the
high summer sun. The glass itself has
been carefully selected for its capacity
to curb heat transfer. “The high-
performance glass specified in
Madeleine’s concept will very effectively
control the amount of conducted heat
and radiant heat entering the home,”
says Lachlan Austin, general manager
of market strategy and growth at
Viridian. “The thermal performance
of these windows is akin to a wall.”
The multiple windows also enable
another aspect of passive cooling: cross
ventilation. “Air needs to be drawn
through a house, so it’s important that
windows are placed on corresponding
sides of the building,” says Roberts.
Travelling over lawn, plants and
ponds cools the air by a few degrees, so
it’s preferable to have it do so before it
reaches the house. “Positioning trees
thoughtfully and choosing plants over
paved surfaces will make a big
difference,” says Madeleine.
The thermal mass of the building
products also plays a major role in
passive cooling, as does insulation and
the zoning of the living and sleeping
areas of the house, says La. “A good
design like Madeleine’s takes all these
elements into account and the result is
a home that’s good for the environment
and the hip pocket.” >H&G’S HERITAGE
Australian House & Garden has
documented and influenced
Australia’s suburbs since the
magazine’s launch in 1948.
H&G covers from the 1950s and
’60s appeared front-and-centre
in the ABC TV series Streets
Of Your Town, which screened
in November. “Magazines of
the 1950s commissioned
architects to draw up home
plans that they’d sell to readers
for a few pounds,” says Tim
Ross, the show’s Modernism-
loving host. “They also ran
competitions to uncover new
and innovative home designs
for the time.” The My Ideal
House design competition
continues this proud tradition
and was directly inspired
by these popular competitions
from the past. See tomorrow’s
history being made today
by following the journey at
http://www.myidealhouse.com.au.The house pictured was designed and built by AC Paul Constructions. Photograph by Sharyn Cairns/bauersyndication.com.au.