Concept house addresses sustainable housing challenge

Housing in Australia faces many challenges: decreasing household sizes, land shortages, and shifting consumer needs. The “one size fits all” approach of the detached house on a quarter-acre block is no longer valid or sustainable.

In 2004, Austral Bricks participated in the House of the Future project, conducted by the NSW Government as part of the Year of the Built Environment.

Tone Wheeler of Environa Studio was commissioned by the Clay Brick and Paver Association of New South Wales to design a sustainable housing form exploiting the benefits of bricks and other clay products. They offer superb thermal mass and maintain their long life without special coatings or finishes. Most clay products can be recycled with their original qualities intact.
The completed concept house showcases a range of clay products including Austral Bricks revolutionary TerraÇade panels and Eureka tiles.

"Solarium" design the key

The courtyard plan creates a very private house that can fit a small land area while maintaining a high level of thermal comfort without artificial heating or cooling.

Central to the plan is a "solarium courtyard", an indoor-outdoorspace that is both living area and courtyard. Unlike a conventional house, the bricks are inside, with clay tiles on the floor and external walls. This "inside-out" design puts the thermal mass on the inside where it is of most benefit.

The design would accommodate a three-bedroom house on a site of less than 300 m² - one-third the land area of a single 1950s house - including car parking and garden, while maintaining the privacy and outdoor areas we value.