Mum and Dad’s Retirement Home.
This is a real life project; a continuation of my Year 12 Major Work, with improvements made to suit changed needs/wants and budget.
With my parents as clients, I worked closely on this design with them which has just been built on our narrow front yard and sub-divided. Being only in my second year of architecture when it was built, my job consisted mostly of working through the passive design element of it with them, helping them visualise the design through 3D renders, and offering suggestions and knowledge where needed. The home was built by BT Homes and therefore, they have produced all the final drawings for building purposes.
The design is largely focussed on Solar Passive operation to access the desired amount of sunlight in the summer and winter to naturally heat and cool the interior of the house. It is built on a concrete slab with tiles laid on top. This heat-retaining material is used to trap, and slowly release the winter sunlight that it receives through strategically designed windows and eaves. The eaves have been designed at a length that blocks the summer sun and allows full winter sun inside based on the dates of the solstice and equinox. I was able to use the sunlight analysis tools within Graphisoft ArchiCAD to determine these lengths. The clerestory windows are designed in the same way, with the winter sunlight hitting a large brick wall in the middle of the living room (to also be used for heat storage).
With these passive design features, the need for extra heating and cooling are not needed. The living area can be closed off from all other parts of the house so that heat can be kept in. A high cathedral ceiling is for air-flow and to facilitate the clerestory windows.
Other small mitigation features of the house include water-saving bathroom and kitchen accessories, a large rain water tank, solar panels and a solar hot water heater. The exterior will be rendered over ‘NRG Board’, which has high insulative properties.
My parents have been living in this house since Easter 2021 now, and on their accounts, have only had to turn the heating on once during this harsh winter; proving our design to be effective and beneficial to the long-term effects on both the environment, and their power bills.
