Setting Precedents

In Annandale, Australia, lies a charming house that was remodelled by Day Bukh Architects using both active and passive sustainable principles. Catering to the subtropical climate of the country, its ingenious sustainable design serves as an inspiration for other similar projects.

- Ramya Srinivasan

Designing a green building is not just about adding a few arbitrary elements to the project. It is about the sum of all parts, exploring every minute component to determine if the sustainability aspect can be built into it, whether it’s using natural methods to control temperature, finding ways to maximise energy efficiency or employing materials that are cost effective and renewable. In Sustainable House Annandale, Day Bukh Architects have used a holistic design strategy that includes space share and intelligent product choices.

The existing house was located in the innercity suburb of Annandale in Sydney on a large and wide site. It had bedrooms on the front, either side of a main hallway with the rest of the rooms tucked in the backside. There was also a swimming pool behind the property. The kitchen, living and dining were cramped with only a 1m wide door to the backyard, small windows and no cross ventilation.

So, it started out as a project to add space at the rear end, restructure the functions of a few existing rooms and provide better ventilation to the property.

Matt Day, Director, Day Bukh Architects, explains, “The client brief was to improve the kitchen, living and dining areas’ connection to the rear yard, to turn the yard into a garden, to take benefit of the wide block by having a wide living room and to improve the thermal comfort of the house as it was very cold in winter and very hot in summer.”