Northcote Flexible House
Design Philosophy
The Northcote Flexible House is an exciting and sustainable alternative to the traditional family home. It contains spaces with high flexibility and smart use of volume, allowing the rooms to perform many functions. Making it a smaller house, it required fewer materials to build and uses less energy to heat than the typical family home. The flexibility of space combined with natural light make this house a dynamic place to live.
The family room opens to the living room and can be divided by sliding walls, allowing it to perform as a guest bedroom, or evolve into other uses such as a rumpus room or a study as the family grows. Space-saving mezzanines maximise the use of volumes. North-oriented glazing provides passive heating. Placement of doors and windows to best capture natural ventilation provides passive cooling. The ability to close off the flexible spaces allows efficient heating of only the rooms that are being used.
The Northcote Flexible House is an exciting and sustainable alternative to the traditional family home. It contains spaces with high flexibility and smart use of volume, allowing the rooms to perform many functions. Making it a smaller house, it required fewer materials to build and uses less energy to heat than the typical family home. The flexibility of space combined with natural light make this house a dynamic place to live.
The family room opens to the living room and can be divided by sliding walls, allowing it to perform as a guest bedroom, or evolve into other uses such as a rumpus room or a study as the family grows. Space-saving mezzanines maximise the use of volumes. North-oriented glazing provides passive heating. Placement of doors and windows to best capture natural ventilation provides passive cooling. The ability to close off the flexible spaces allows efficient heating of only the rooms that are being used.
Sustainable Design Elements
- Passive heating through north-oriented windows
- Thermal mass in concrete floor retains heat of sunlight
- High performance thermal insulation and double glazing
- Passive cooling through high ceiling creating stack effect and natural cross-ventilation through louvred glazing
- Shading by adjustable external screens to west facing windows
- Rainwater storage in a 10,000 litre tank
- Grey-water recycling of shower and washing water for use in garden
- Recycling of existing building materials, appliances and fittings
- Sustainable materials such as radially sawn timber and marmoleum flooring
- Low volatile organic compound (VOC) finishes and plywood for cabinetry
135 St Georges Road
North Fitzroy
Victoria 3068
ph (03) 9482 3504
fax (03) 9482 3514
email info@zenarchitects.com