Green Magazine #86 Jul-Aug 2022

In this, our annual Bush Architecture issue, we look at five houses in the bush, on the coastline and on ex-farmland. Each had its own particular challenge that comes with building outside of urban areas. In a fragile coastal environment, when efforts to preserve failed, architects Kennedy Nolan instead sought to remember a much-loved old house and at the same time enhance the connection to the surrounding vegetation via a green-roof with plants of great diversity. A simple, affordable and sustainable solution was what Peter Stutchbury Architecture were striving for in their development of a prefabricated home with Dimensions X. Similarly, budget and sustainability were the drivers for Imogen Puller Architecture in the design of a 30-square-metre shack on a site with BAL Flame Zone classification. Meanwhile, on ex-farmland in Tasmania’s north, Cumulus Studio’s…

Handwoven Dumbfounded at our ability to take the term ‘single use plastic’ literally, Sydney-based artist and maker Lise Hobcroft from lidi gradan gave a single white plastic bag a second life by shredding it down into a weavable yarn to make three trinket pouches. These were handwoven with linen on an eight-shaft loom. Lise uses repurposed and natural materials that tread lightly on the earth. Her pieces include woven wall-hangings and fabrics, interior fixtures and homewares. lidigradan.com @lidigradan Honest Furniture Effortlessly cool, calm and collected, SKEEHAN Studio’s award-winning HOSHI collection is earnest yet arresting, functional yet fresh, inviting yet honest. Designed for Stylecraft with textiles from Instyle, the collection was made in Australia by Evostyle and En-Sight and offers a single armchair, lounge, benches, ottomans and side tables. skeehan.com.au stylecraft.com.au Grind Sustainably Handmade by South Australia-based furniture…

If you take a moment to consider what a coastal garden is - particularly one in south-eastern Australia - ideas of textured plant tapestries, sculpted natural forms, stone and weathered timber may come to mind. Chances are this subconscious perception has been influenced by Fiona Brockhoff’s world-renowned contemporary style. For over 25 years, Fiona has been forging her own unique path to reimagine and reinterpret what an Australian garden is. Her work is ubiquitous in the collective design consciousness of Australian gardens. There is a sense of warmth and generosity in Fiona’s gardens. With a strong anchoring to the site, her gardens are richly layered, elegant and yet playful at the same time. For Fiona, “it’s about celebrating natural materials [to give] the garden a proper sense of place and belonging.” This…

Out of sight, the ocean is heard lapping at the dog beach shoreline. A muffled sound beyond the tree line. A corten steel gate with the word ‘Always’ welded on it has been left ajar. It is here on this site, some four or five years ago that Julie commissioned architects Kennedy Nolan to design a beachside weekender. Initially the design brief was conceived around the conservation of an existing house designed by Chancellor and Patrick – renowned mid-century architects who were responsible for the seminal McCraith House, commonly known as the Butterfly House. “Our attempts to preserve and restore the house were thwarted by the structural necessity to place it on 15-metre-deep piles, without which the house was in real danger of sliding onto the beach,” explained the architect Patrick…

Architect Kennedy Nolan kennedynolan.com.au Builder Gaffcon Location Boonwurrung Country. Flinders, Vic. Passive energy design The house is mostly oriented to the north-west in order to encapsulate the view to the beach below and the northern sun. As a result, a large overhang above the living and kitchen spaces was incorporated in order to provide adequate summer shading. In winter the sun can penetrate well inside the living room through the glazing, and minimal openings were included in the south façade to minimise heat loss. The green roof acts as a natural insulator, contributing to the home’s passive design. Terraces and decks on the east of the house along with operable windows throughout allow for cross ventilation. Landscaping This landscape, created with regular collaborator Amanda Oliver, is designed to surround and conceal the built form. The landscape is characterised by…

Sustainability and affordability are two key issues in housing today, and a new prefabricated house called Dimensions X is proving that both are achievable. A collaboration between Peter Stutchbury Architects and entrepreneur Oscar Martin, Dimensions X is a series of sustainable, affordable and beautiful prefabricated homes with OM-1, the first prototype, built at the Krinklewood vineyard in the Hunter Valley, NSW. Dimensions X is the product of Peter’s 40 years’ experience in the architecture industry, and Oscar’s recent foray into building. Oscar experienced the inefficiencies of the building process (delays, cost and waste) at his house in Bondi, until the prefabricated wall panels arrived and went into place in a single day. “It suddenly resembled a house and I wondered why the rest of it couldn’t be built that way,” he…