Former Solar Passive Designed, Light-weight built Home Of Interior Designer Simone Gillespie and family

Plans and drawings by Architect Nicole Mc Lachlan.
Builder Peter Visser using Fast Eco Panel by Tom Harris.
Complete Interior fit out and Décor by Simone Gillespie from Essence Interiors.

Our two story, 4 x2 home in Churchlands, was situated across from a large park,  with a balcony view towards the west. The block was barely 278m2 and only 9m wide. Houses in the estate were built to the zero lot boundary, so virtually side by side. We had to fit a lot of house on a tiny block – and we sure did!!

When we first bought the land, the garage at the back in the laneway, faced East and all along the southern side was parapet wall so there were no south facing windows. Due to this orientation, a clever plan had to be devised, and orientation was key, to make the most of the Elements such as sun movement and direction, shade and cross breezes,  in order to build a truly Solar Passive home.

It was also a passion of mine to build with alternative materials (other than traditional double brick) and to not have built in central air conditioning. Solar passive design is about harnessing the energy of the elements; sun and light from North facing windows, shading the harsh summer sun off windows, and the wind; allowing for cross ventilation using the breezes to cool the house ( we used Louvres for this) and also using Tiles for Thermal mass. A lot of study about solar passive principles went into the details of the final house design to get this right.

After much research, we settled on AAC Panel which is known as Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Panel ( or also called HEBEL) to build the house. It was chosen as it has 6 times the “R” rating of a brick for insulation purposes, is easy to construct and handle ( as its light weight) and the build goes up in a matter of months! We started our build in Churchlands in July and by December we had moved in to a nearly finished house. So it took 6 months or less to build. Two other houses in the estate had been built using the same AAC panel.

The method of construction is so different in a lot of ways that the plans had to be specially drawn to accommodate the AAC Panel. Enter Nicole, a very good friend and Architect, who was keen to help and was able to make the functional changes to an unfinished Plan we had begun with. The main idea of the house was to build a back to

front “c” shape around the pool, wrapping around so that the pool can be seen from nearly all windows. The pool and courtyard were in the middle facing the North. We had large eaves on this side to stop harsh Summer Sun’s rays entering our void windows and we had special eco glass to reduce transmission of sun’s UV rays.

The greatest design factor of the build I feel, were the louvres, so easy to operate and so great for letting just the right amount of sea breeze in the front and out the back. This was to cause a centrifuge effect , that meant the hot air got pushed up and out in the summer through large stacker glass doors at the front and the louvres at the back. This breeze was enough to cool the whole home and we only had two split system air con units (no central air con) upstairs, none below. We hardly ever used the split systems.

A Rinnai fireplace down in the ground floor lounge, looked fantastic on entry and meant that in winter the fire would create heat that rose through the void area and warmed the whole upstairs – with again no air conditioning needed. The void area gave a spectacular visual effect at the top of the staircase and there was a “bridge”, connecting the back half of the house, from the front half. Wall to wall stacker sliding doors gave us an unlimited view of the tree tops in the park and it was so lovely that we could only

envisage an upside- down house. The kitchen and main living were on the top floor, with the kid’s bedrooms and their own activity room at the rear. Master bedroom and ensuite downstairs in the front, another lounge area, spare room and bathroom laundry at the bottom.

The house was a visual ‘delight’. Walking in the front door, you would see the pool courtyard straight away. Then on climbing the stairs, full height windows to the top floor, allowed a great outlook to the courtyard. Walking over the void ‘bridge’ was pure WOW factor, you could see the expanse of glass and the trees beyond, with a massive 8m long x 4 m wide balcony, which became an extended living area. From just about every room in the house, you could look down and see the pool and the garden courtyard.

The stacker sliding doors were able to open right up with fly screens and the glass was E-glass so it reflected uv rays. We hardly ever used the aircon units and the top level only ever got hot in the rear,  where the kids rooms were. The beautiful breezes from the louvres were pure delight. Downstairs it was always cool and no need for air -con down there. The master bedroom faced the park at the front too- so we had our own courtyard garden in the Front and sliding doors to access it.

Essence Interiors organised and managed the entire fit- out, including all tiling and plumbing goods, designing all cabinetry in bathrooms and all of the kitchen/ laundry. There were Teak floor boards upstairs and tiles downstairs in the main areas. Essence Interiors chose all the light fittings and the wall colours and completely furnished the spaces. Our own art work collection was hung in the stairwell and below the stairs. It was not really an austere, stark, minimalist ‘display- home’ you would expect of an interior designer; but a stylish, cosy,  yet earthy, homely and comfortable space for real families to live amongst nature.

Our family loved this home so much. We were always and forever on our beautiful balcony up there with the trees and facing the western sunsets. The sky put on many a light show for us in summer and in winter storms and you really felt at one with the outdoors up there. Amazing.

This house was built in 2012 and we sold it in 2018. Forever missed this wonderful family home.