2008 HIA-Boral GreenSmart Awards

Coastal retreat is a smart housing winner

Victorian company Bayside Peninsula Building won the HIA GreenSmart Smart Housing Award at the HIA-Boral GreenSmart Awards in Sydney tonight. The category is partnered with Delfin Lend Lease

Bayside Peninsula Building’s winning entry was for the Elliot Residence, a “coastal retreat” at Flinders, on the Mornington Peninsula.

Judges said the home had been sited to gain maximum access to views and for optimal solar orientation. “The design incorporates cross-ventilation throughout the house, special glazing on the windows, sunshades to those windows that require them and thermal mass through the ground floor slab,” they said.

“The house also has a rainwater collection and re-use system, solar power generation and a solar hot water system.”

Congratulating Bayside Peninsula Building, HIA Managing Director Ron Silberberg said the HIA-Boral GreenSmart Awards are now firmly established as the showcase for environmentally responsible housing in Australia.

Peter and linda Williamson at the HIA GreenSmart Awards Ceremony

“It was back in 1999 that HIA decided there should be a dedicated program of awards for industry members who planned and built to the highest standards of sustainability,” he said.

“At the time, the critics said we would never attract sufficient interest from the industry. The fact that every year we set new records for our entries shows just how wrong they were.

“The awards are solid evidence of HIA’s support for the design and construction of environmentally responsible housing in Australia. We are delighted that the GreenSmart program, created at the birth of environmental awareness in building, is playing an increasingly significant role in keeping industry members and consumers alike aware that environmentally responsible living is also cost-effective living.”

You can view images of This Property and many others in our Gallery Section.

This prporty also won the 2008 HIA Building Commission South East Victoria Regional Housing Award for Overall Energy Efficient Housing Winner.

Surf whiz gives back to community:
HIA-Boral GreenSmart Awards

Reprinted from an article that first appeared in The Australian, July 4, 2008.

The idea was a simple ``knockabout'' weekender where finance and media whiz Tom Elliott could escape city stresses and take advantage of his favourite break with his board and a couple of friends.

In keeping with that brief, there are carefully framed views to the sweet Mornington Peninsula surf, the garage is proportioned to fit Mr Elliott's surfboard, and there's even a bathroom designed for the easy rinsing and drying of wetsuits. That sort of attention to detail is not unusual in the Flinders village holiday beach house community where million dollar holiday houses are becoming the norm.

But when the Elliot House was finished in January this year, under the guidance of architect Tim Jackson of Jackson Clements Burrows, and builder Peter Williamson of Bayside Peninsula Building, it stood out for far more important reasons. As a starter, at the same time that the building's orientation allows Mr Elliott to judge the break each day as he requested, it also enables this sophisticated little beach house to take full advantage of the sun in both summer and winter.

This is just one factor that contributes to the two-storey plantation Blackbutt timber house being so energy efficient that it is now able to feed more electricity back into the local grid than it uses. "It's producing more energy off the roof than what's required to run the house,'' says Peter Williamson, referring to the BP Solar Energizer 1500 system that is connected to the grid with a two-way meter. "At the moment the electricity company is giving him [Elliott] money back instead of him paying money out.''

Conditions on the peninsula vary greatly, and much of the holiday home's energy efficiency is due to Tim Jackson and his project team anticipating those climatic variations in the design of the building to ensure that it feels good to be inside, regardless of what is going on outside.

Clear glass louvres around large decks allow expansive views while protecting against fierce southern winds, a north facing pop-up roof in the upstairs living area enables summer heat to escape, and a concrete slab foundation is designed to passively heat the downstairs bedrooms during the winter months. Other features adding to energy efficiency include the great flat steel awnings shielding glass walls from summer sun, but allowing weaker low winter rays to slip beneath and warm the interior. At the same time, efforts have been taken to ensure natural ventilation throughout the house. During hotter months the double-glazed windows in every room that help keep the warmth in during winter, can be opened and in the large open-plan living area, north and south-facing windows allow for cross ventilation. These steps have significantly reduced the need for any significant mechanical heating and cooling, helping Mr Elliott to continue accruing credit with the local electricity provider.

"It's pretty much self-sufficient energy wise,'' says Mr Williamson. "It's producing more energy off the roof than is required to run the house.'' The environmental care in design and construction extends outside where tank water is being used for watering-as well as for flushing the toilets inside-and any storm water overflow drains into landscaped pebble garden beds planted with native grasses and banksias.

The result is that the Elliott house more than qualifies for the top six-star energy rating according to the HIA GreenSmart standards, says Mr Williamson, who says he enjoys working within the guidelines. He initially sought GreenSmart accreditation simply because he thought it would provide an extra selling point for his business, but says that after all the training and seeing it put into practice, he has become a convert.

"I really enjoy being able to promote it,'' he says. "I find that every client is really into it and if there's a better way to protect the environment, nine times out of 10 they'll accept that way. Obviously, the cost of things is a big issue, but a lot of clients are really mindful now of doing the right thing and promoting their home as being as self-sufficient as possible.''

In the case of the Elliott house, Mr Williamson even managed to arrange the recycling of the original building on the site. It is now being put to use by one of the peninsula's sporting clubs not far away.

Six months after completion of the new beach house, the owner says that it has already "exceeded his expectations'', and he's not just referring to the views of the nearby surf.

Architectural Statement: Elliott Project, Flinders

The two storey house has been designed as retreat accommodation for the owner, his friends and future young family.

Entry to the house is via a timber deck that extends from the native garden on the street side of the property through timber batten gates into an enclosed communal space. From this space the garage, laundry, main doors into the house and an external stair that leads to an upper floor deck can be accessed. The lower floor plan contains four bedrooms, two bathrooms and an internal stair that leads up to the main living areas.

The upper floor has an open plan layout. The kitchen is centrally located and flanked by dining and entertaining areas on either side. A central north facing pop-up roof over the kitchen allows north light to spill into the kitchen and stair well below. A large southern deck with views to the ocean across the front of the house is sheltered by clear glass louvres to screen from the prevailing winds. This well shaded area also provides shelter from the sun during warmer months.

A large north facing deck positioned over the garage contains a barbeque and outdoor dining. This space provides an ideal area for entertaining during the cooler months and has external stair access back down to the centrally located entry deck.

The house has a number of ESD components. A BP Solar Energizer 1500 system is installed on the roof to supply electricity for the house. A two way meter allows the electricity being generated by the system to be fed back into the grid and the amounts of electricity both fed into the grid by the system and taken to be tallied up. As it is a holiday house and will not be occupied at all times, the system could be considered as a solar farm as most of the time the electricity generated will far outstrip the electricity used by the household. There is also a Chromagen 300 litre solar hot water system installed on the roof. The house also utilises rainwater for flushing the toilets and irrigation. Rainwater from the roof is collected and stored in two Bluescope “Waterpoint Classic” 4000L tanks.

The house sits on a concrete slab foundation to generate thermal mass. This will aid in passively heating the interior spaces during cooler months and reduce heating costs. North facing windows and doors are protected by either flat steel awnings or deep eaves. Minimal openings are proposed for the east and west elevations.

The exterior of the house is clad in natural stained timber boards. Timber window and door frames are also proposed. The form of the building is simple and in keeping with the efficient layout of the internal spaces. The materials, textures and landscaping proposed have been selected to compliment the native vegetation surrounding the area.

In summary, the design of the house is a sympathetic gesture to the holiday homes that are scattered throughout the immediate vicinity and the coastal landscape they inhabit. It has been considered for its position within the peninsula region and the needs and requirements of those who will occupy it.