A simple family home for a couple and their teenage daughter.

On a tight budget, the house is as efficient as possible with a minimal footprint.

The structural design is based on an A-frame consisting of four identical steel portal frames resulting in a tent like appearance that reflects the owner’s passion for adventure.

Simple and commonly available materials are used to keep cost and maintenance to a minimum.

The house steps away from the northern boundary to bring light into the living areas. The double storey volume is kept towards the street side to not overshadow the backyard.

Large glazed walls are positioned to the eastern and western elevations, smaller box windows to the north and venting windows to the southern side. The house is designed to not require air conditioning.

A central double height stair void acts as a chimney in summer and extracts hot air via an industrial sized whirlybird, at the same time drawing cool air from awning windows positioned low on the shaded southern side. Ground floor internal walls are kept low to not obstruct the airflow and provide additional daylight into the living area. All rooms have windows on two or more sides for cross ventilation.

In winter, the central void space draws warm air to the bedrooms from a wood heater in the living area.

On the northern side, a green wall planting screen provides shade and privacy to the kitchen windows.

A PV installation on the lower north facing roof feeds into a battery storage unit and is used for cooking via induction and hot water via heat pump.