WINDOWS | CASE STUDY
QUARRY HOUSE
Q
uarry House, in New South Wales’ picturesque
Kangaroo Valley, sits amongst tranquil rivers and
enchanting rural vistas. But such an idyll often
comes with a darker side. In this instance, that darker
side includes blazing summer heat, high winds and the
omnipresent threat of bushfire.
To fully understand the conditions, the architect,
Ben Vitale, chose to live on site for some time before
commencing his design.
“Something that we worked really hard on was actually
analysing the sun throughout the year and also the wind
in that environment. As simple as that sounds, it was
quite important to ensure that the rooves were at the
exact right angle. You’re never going to get it exactly
right but it’s trying to ensure that, in those really hot
summer days when the sun is just beating down, you do
have that canopy of shade,” Ben says.
The home is centred around a spine that connects two
separate pavilions. Stone walls, quarried on site, cap
28 Spring 2017
each end of the home’s pavilions on the east and west.
Stretching between these caps are massive expanses of
glass. Finding the right glazing product was essential.
“Thermally broken section is quite important to us,” says
Ben. “We worked really hard on sealing the building up
to the window frame and we just didn’t want to then lose
all of that work through the frames themselves.”
AWS ThermalHEART™ products were chosen for
the build. Durable and fully tested, the products are
Australian-made and were locally manufactured by DLG
Aluminium and Glazing.
“The thermally broken window system is probably one
of very few in the market that will also perform in terms
of weight and operation of the windows,” says Ben. “The
ability for the window system to perform in a bushfire
area and to have BAL rating is critical. The AWS system
definitely allowed us flexibility.”
For more information, visit specifyaws.com.au