BONES HOUSE

Bones House and its timber skin

ARCHITECT LACHLAN SHEPHERD ARCHITECTS PHOTOGRAPHY NIC STEPHENS

Fibro shacks are synonymous with the Australian coastline, but what happens when they reach senility? You recruit an architect.

A home that connects to its landscape via its textural palette and living spaces.

PROJECT CREDITS

Architect Lachlan Shepherd Architects Photography Nic Stephens Location Bells Beach, VIC Year Completed 2020

Bones House derives its name from the fibro cartilage that the contemporary timber additions wrap around like muscle and skin. Much of the house’s original footprint has been reused, in an attempt to maintain character.

The client’s brief called for a refined home with a highly detailed application of material, while holding a warm aesthetic. Shepherd set to work on devising a home with an earthy palette that channels the seaside intentions of the iconic fibro shack.

Bones House is more renovation than replacement. Half of the original dwelling’s roof has been retained and repurposed to create a raked roof. The high ceilings allowed Shepherd to utilise highlight glazing, thus improving the house’s ventilation.

The open-plan kitchen and dining area serves as the heart of the home, which spills out onto a deck. The interior and exterior spaces are divided by bifold doors, that do away with the feeling of disconnection a wall would if sat between the spaces. This ensures that guests are entertained in an area that moves outside, that doesn’t feel disjointed. The emphasis of timber in both spaces also ensures the transition between inside and outside is seamless.

Timber is the defining feature of Bones House. The material is utilised on the ceiling and floors, as doors and as storage. Citing adaptive reuse techniques, Shepherd recycled elements of the roof to utilise timber that was already onsite. Cavity masonry walls control the home’s climate all year round, and are purposely exposed to further the robust textures already seen within the home.

Giving a humble fibro cottage a new lease on life, Lachlan Shepherd Architects created a home that connects to its landscape via its textural palette and living spaces. The timber-laden home is comfortable and contemporary, while still remaining able to channel it’s previous existence.

IMAGES Bones House derives its name from the fibro cartilage that the contemporary timber additions wrap around like muscle and skin.

The benefi ts of specifying sustainable products in landscape architecture

The Australian construction industry is among the country’s biggest contributors to waste and emissions. Between 2016-17, 6.7 megatonnes (MT) of construction and demolition waste went into land lls which is almost a third of the total waste deposited in land lls during this period across ALL industries.

This ‘take-make-waste’ approach has implications for the future of our planet. Earth is a nite resource – the more natural resources we extract and the more waste we generate, the closer we get to an environmental disaster. To avoid such an event there is a need for a far-reaching transformation in how we approach the built environment to create a more sustainable future.

Councils, Landscape Architects and Designers are well placed to make a considerable positive impact on the Australian construction industry. After all, they are responsible for the parks, green spaces and community areas which are the very thing at risk if we continue extracting, consuming and discarding resources at our current pace. Adopting a new approach to landscape design and sourcing products from suppliers whose values align will be key to ensuring truly sustainable development is achieved.

Although choosing products made from renewable or recycled materials is a critical component of sustainable design, it’s also not the only requirement to consider. Truly sustainable products will also focus on designing out waste and pollution during production with a greater emphasis on durability, reuse, remanufacturing and recycling to keep products, components and materials in circulation for as long as possible.

Specifying products for sustainable landscape projects also involves preferring locally designed and made building solutions. This, in turn, bene ts the communities in which we live as we support those individuals and their families.

These social bene ts also extend to the commercial world where the bene ts of prioritising sustainability cannot be ignored. Many organisations have reported an enhanced brand reputation and demand as a direct result. People are becoming increasingly educated on the harmful impact of our traditional ‘take-make-waste’ economic model and will hold Councils, Architects and Developers accountable for how we approach development now and in the future. Other businesses looking to change their ways are also looking for reputable partners to help them achieve their goals.

Ultimately, specifying decisions should no longer be based purely on price, as the cost to maintain, x and dispose of poorly built products needs to be factored into the equation to determine true value for money. By specifying sustainably and locally-made products that provide more added value across their entire life-cycle, you will save money whilst also helping to create a more sustainable Australian economy.

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