NAARM HOUSE

Designer: Belinda Stewart, 3875 design & drafting

Belinda

Stewart, 3875 design & drafting

Net DMN emissions score 2023 to 2050 (tonnes) 42.6

Project cost estimate: $460,625

House size: 155sqm + 33 sqm carport

Energy rating: 7.9 stars

Naarm house is situated on the lands of the Kulin Nation and is designed to sit gently on country allowing a family to live and grow together, both inside and out, fostering positive, everyday interactions and relationships with each other and the natural environment.

The palette takes inspiration from the surrounding landscape to dictate the materials choices, using biophilic principles of natural materials, light and space, place-based relationships, and evolved human-nature relationships. With openings to the garden from each space, the family is encouraged to easily transition and live inside and outside, enjoying all aspects of Naarm House.

The design maximizes the north-facing roof to allow for a PV system to provide renewable energy to the home, including availability of future EV charging and battery system. With a designed system that can potentially export 5kW per phase (3 phase allowed) of renewable energy back into to the grid, the offset to ‘pay back’ the embodied carbon from construction is maximised.

Consideration of whole of house use and generational sustainability has allowed for flexibility to reconfigure room uses with the end bedroom being connected to the main house, or used as a separate dwelling, by closing the door, allowing for generational changes of the family.

The home encompasses aspects of ‘passive building – active human’ with air flow made possible through well-positioned windows on the south east an south west of the building, to ensure that natural ventilation is possible and the property benefits from the prevailing summer sea breezes and to assist with passive cooling, rather than relying on air-conditioning. When necessary, ceiling fans are also included to encourage airflow.

Materials and fittings/fixtures choices have been carefully selected to ensure the embodied carbon payback can be achieved in a 28-year period. Plumbing fixtures are from a company that produces carbon neutral tapware, while the Marmoleum was chosen for wet area walls and floors as it is CO2 neutral with low-embodied energy. Even the plasterboard specified (Green Tag Accredited) was researched to ensure it too was sustainable and would be a low carbon material that could be “paid back” by 2050.

A door to the hall from the second bedroom allows the house to be closed off and used as a “couple no children” home or used as a children’s bedroom, while the end bedroom can be a master suite or for aging parents/ grandparents.

The garden and the house were designed to act as a single entity to create a calm and inviting home. Each room opens to the outside and the garden is designed specifically to ensure it caters to the needs of a family while providing habitat for flora and fauna.

The room spaces are designed specifically for family to congregate together and interact both inside and outside of Naarm House while also allowing the home to grow as a family’s needs evolve. The garden fronting the street allows for some privacy and the entrance to the house is welcoming and accessible. Sharing bathroom facilities means that the shower or toilet can be used by different people at the same time. This means that the flow of the facilities can help with family dynamics, especially in the morning rush hour.

A smaller footprint with reduced overall running costs compared to today’s standards should promote interest for future consumers.

A thoughtful, architecturally designed layout provides the occupants of Naarm House comfort as a pleasant home to live in all year