LAKE HOUSE

The Lake House

PHOTOGRAPHY PETER MATHEW

Sitting amongst the Tasmanian scrub, the Lake House gains its name from the body of water that sits on the site. Designed by Biotope Architecture, the bespoke design is guided by sustainability, with passive design principles utilised by the client.

PROJECT CREDITS

Architect Biotope Architecture Year Completed 2019 Location Hobart, TAS

Heat gain is maximised through the orientation of the house, with two linear forms allowing the sun to infiltrate the interior. The building has been split into two levels to ensure the ground wasn’t overly breached onsite. The decision to split the home birthed a corridor and connected the bedrooms and living spaces.

The bedroom wing has its light filtered by eucalypts that sit above intrusions and skylights, while a daybed in the living wing to the west offers views of the lake and bushland. A geothermal heat pump with ground loop pipes in the lake powers the home in conjunction with 72 photovoltaic panels that release excess back into the grid.

Locally sourced stone and timber complement one another to create a robust facade for a home firmly integrated amongst its surrounding. The single storey home is grounded in nature, with the dwelling an embodiment of what can happen when designers work with the earth, as opposed to against it.

Energy-efficient timber windows that enable sustainable apartment living

Designed in collaboration with Six Degrees Architects and enabled by HIP V. HYPE, Ferrars & York features 22 carbon neutral apartments, all powered by 100% renewable energy and representing best practice in climate-resilient design and construction. Situated 100m from the iconic South Melbourne Markets, this development encourages a lifestyle connected to the diverse local community, making self-sufficient living more convenient for its residents.

Following their success with the Nightingale 2.0 mixed-use apartment and retail project, HIP V. HYPE wanted to ensure Ferrars & York took optimisation, sustainability and innovative design to the next level. With low impact, responsibly-sourced products, energy-efficient heating, cooling and ventilation systems, and emphasis on natural light, this building takes its sustainability credentials seriously. In fact, Ferrars & York’s carbon-neutral design will be the first of its kind in South Melbourne with HIP V. HYPE taking the additional step of purchasing certified climate offsets from Climate Active for the embodied carbon used to construct the building itself.

With Ferrars & York, HIP V. HYPE aimed to create a development that achieved both carbon neutrality and a targeted 8+ NatHERS energy rating. These lofty sustainability goals required careful consideration of the building’s window and door design, with the priority being to deliver exceptional thermal efficiency and airtightness.

Given the building’s central Melbourne location, acoustic performance was also important to protect residents from the illeffects of excess environmental noise. Easy operation, low maintenance and an aesthetic to complement Ferrars & York’s contemporary look rounded out the design brief.

BINQ Windows and Doors BINQ offer some of the most thermallyefficient timber window and door systems on the market, making it possible for Ferrars & York to achieve an 8+ star energy rating and deliver more comfort, better acoustic performance, and significantly lower energy bills for residents. Using European design principles, the Archetto Series Tilt & Turn window, Lift & Slide door and IV68 hinged door maximise glass with their low profile and provide the ultimate climate control with continuous rubber gaskets that are uniformly compressed with multi-point locking systems. Made from select grade timber and sourced from a local supply chain, BINQ’s quality assurance process of their timber is rigorous, ensuring that only the finest lengths of timber progress to the production floor. The contemporary styling of their Australian hardwood frames easily met the architectural aesthetic brief. Moreover, the smooth-operating design of their windows and doors give end users real confidence in the quality of the construction and a greater sense of connection with the building.

A development of this complexity, particularly one running amid a pandemic, called for an experienced supplier who could reliably deliver the project in time and in full. The BINQ production scheduling team worked closely with the building contractor’s project managers to identify a staged delivery plan and key site logistical constraints and together with the builder, Ironside, a detailed plan was set out and executed to ensure minimum disruption to all parties.