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Architects: ArchiBlox
- Area: 106 m²
- Year: 2015
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Photographs: Michael Wickham, Tom Ross
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Manufacturers: Big Ass Fans, Beacon Lighting, Knauf, Plaka, T&G, Thermann
Text description provided by the architects. Beyond ArchiBlox’s speedy construction time of 6 weeks, prefab suited the clients desire to tread lightly on the land with the Avalon House project.
With modular building the impact on the surrounding environment is heavily reduced during construction. The dwelling is outfitted with a number of green features, including a living roof that minimises rainwater runoff and solar penetration. The green roof also acts as a thermal mass, an east-west orientation that allows cross-ventilation.
Avalon House is beautifully wrapped in FSC certified external blackbutt hardwood timber milled from sustainably forestry methods. By fabricating off-site, ArchiBlox also had careful control over material usage with minimal wastage.
As with any buildings procurement, it's not so much about the construction methodology that would affect the relationship with sustainability but more the direction of the architect and the client’s appetite.
The major consideration for any sustainable response falls on the siting of the building, i.e. in the southern hemispheres opening up the windows to the north and reduction to the south. Once this is achieved, there are numerous other techniques that can be incorporated which may steadily increase the project budgets and, as such, the client’s appetite.
At ArchiBlox they believe that they have the ability of educating their clients to best maximise their sustainable response to their particular site. With this particular project, the main facades face north and given the type of footings used with this particular project, reduction of water flow across the site was a consideration with its proximity to the cliff edge and potential erosion. Building with a concrete slab or strip footings would have been problematic as would have created a barrier to water flow.
