Split House
Blackheath, Blue Mountains
NSW
The house sits on 7 acres with in the Blue Mountains village of Blackheath. The house achieves a high Bushfire construction level of BAL 40 with the owners choosing to clear less vegetation whilst maintaining a close connection to the landscape.
EXTERIOR
OVERVIEW
During the concept phase the owners had one very specific request - an angled island bench in the kitchen to create a triangle kitchen footprint. This inspired some subtle angles carefully conceived of throughout the project. Angles in plan and section. The angled roofline allows the open living spaces to enjoy both abundant sunlight and views whilst giving the bedrooms a sense of enclosure and privacy.
External materials include metal external metal skin which when space is carved away it is revealed as a lighter cement board. This cement board continuous inside the house and the ironstone colour is repeated in the internal ceiling and wall lining. The focal point of the living room is a recycled brick Masonary heater, technology more traditionally found in northern Europe or Canada.
Environmentally the house improves comfort thought passive design – shading in summer whilst allowing winter sun to flood the interiors. Ceiling fans and large screened openings help to ventilate the space. 130K Litres of Roof water is collected in 2 tanks for use in house and garden. There is a 6KW solar system on the roof.
FLOORPLAN
CONSTRUCTION
INTERIORS
FROM THE CLIENT
“Ingrid designed the house that we wanted. It's a light, airy, open house. It allows us to really feel like we're part of the environment. I look out and there's nowhere in the house that doesn't look out onto this beautiful landscape. One of Ingrid’s great strengths is that she very much designed for the environment that the house is in not just for the house itself. And she made it work for our lifestyle, there's not any part of it, that we feel doesn’t fit.. It all works”.
Bianca - Client
PROJECT CREDITS
Year. 2016
Client. Robinson Family
Builder. Bowerbird Constructions
Photography. Liam Foster
Northern Aspect