14
Vision Magazine
Isn’t there a high thermal price to be paid for
such grand glass walls along the north and
west elevations?
Not in our experience. The house performs very well
thermally and I would put that down to the coating
on ComfortPlusTM. We didn’t use double-glazing
because the climate isn’t extreme enough. We
have the best of both worlds in that this glass lets
in plenty of winter daylight and warmth to remain
comfortable.
Are there any surprises or lessons about the
experience of this project that makes you a
better architect?
We are always learning. Usually by completion you’ve
already worked out a list you may try differently,
or improve on next time, or make more efficient.
You can learn from previous projects but they can
never be repeated because no one site is the same.
My architecture is site responsive, site specific, with
special attention to the connection with landscape.
This project reinforced these principles.
Transformer
So what were the lessons?
Good lines of communication with all contractors
– from the local builder who was very honest and
hardworking through to the engineer. That was key.
Next time a flat site would be good – and a bigger
budget!
The foundation work was complex here. It appears
to be equivalent to an iceberg in terms of the below
surface mass that supports the exposed peak, is
that how it works?
The house required an anchor point. The site was
very steep and it’s on a reactive clay site that needed
stability. We anchored it as close as we could to
the road within council setbacks. These two heavy,
masonry, u-shaped anchor points were cut-in and
embedded in the site. We used the former house cut
out. We didn’t have to expand it too much further.
Two anchor points then allowed two lighter weight
platforms to extend out from this base.