Modern Residential Design

Nicholas Burns Johanna Beach House Thinking Globally | Acting Locally - Nicholas Burns has taken this "green" addage and designed a modern residential retreat that: incorporates international ideas, templates low impact construction, has relatively minimal impact on the environment and embraces this spectacular plot. The Johanna residence sits a few kilometres off the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia, up a bush track leading to a gravel turnaround. This porous parking area is the first step into Nicholas's realm of environmentally concious design, allowing the water to soak through in a semi un-constructed area, combats erosion far better than a concrete slab. Constructed of rammed earth taken in part from the surrounding area the house self regulates in temperature for all but the coldest of days. A super insulated wood burning fire in the centre of the living area tops up on the few days that it is required, whilst for most of the year the 300mm walls and thick...

Apparatus Architecture Lawrence Residence The H shape provides an ideal layout for houses, as discussed in my post about Michelle Kauffmann’s Breeze house. Apparatus Architects have a fine H here with dining and kitchen in one wing and then a living area connecting to the bedrooms and study in the other. I’m sure my wife would be well into the traditional crisscross glazed doors and sloped roof, something a lot of the houses I enjoy lack. On a plus side, each room opens to either the front or back courtyard and the kitchen’s back door lead out to a sheltered courtyard for breakfast and the BBQ (unfortunately gas). The earth construction also appeals to me, not the exposed beams of the roof, but the solidity of the foot plus thick walls and the permanent feel of the structure. Not a classical Rammed Earth structure, this build uses PISE, stabilised earth construction, which is just with a little cement added to hold it together. This house would definitely store heat in the floors and ...