Aireys Inlet Modular House, Victoria

Design Philosophy

The Aireys Inlet House is a prototype of our investigation into the sustainability and cost benefits of design with modular components.

To create a 4 bedroom holiday house, two linear modules are placed adjacent to each other as two distinct wings. One of the wings contains the children and guest bedrooms while the other contains the Kitchen / Living / Dining rooms and the master bedroom. The two wings are joined by a link that is also the main entry to the house.

Both wings are oriented to maximise passive solar gain and natural ventilation through catching prevailing breezes. The two wings are placed to sit comfortably between existing trees and vegetation.
The modular design and use of prefabricated components allowed for fast and cost effective construction. The lightweight structure sits above the ground with minimal impact on the natural surrounds of the site.

Sustainable Design Elements

• Orientation for maximum passive solar gain for natural heating in winter, complemented by external shading to prevent summer overheating
• Natural ventilation through orientation towards prevailing breezes and use of windows on multiple sides of rooms
• Use of prefabricated components to minimise wastage of materials and increase speed of construction
• Sustainably harvested radially sawn timber decking
• Low maintenance colorbond cladding profile designed specifically for this house
• Solar hot water
• Rainwater harvested and stored in tanks
• High-performance thermal insulation and double glazing