house profile magnetic island house profile magnetic island

Keeping
it Simple
The owners of this subtropical
Queensland house find that living
in and with the environment is a
lot better than fighting against it.

Words Francene Ridley

Photography Robin Gauld

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“Living with” is the first and
most important step toward
sustainability. Troppo’s
primary aim is to produce
back-to-basics living that
encourages the occupants
to respond to the site and
climate. To be uncomfortable
occasionally, in order to
appreciate what is on offer.
A smaller house accomplishes
this by providing just enough
– or perhaps not quite enough
– space and encouraging
occupants to venture out to
meet their spatial needs.

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Breezway louvres, moveable
wall sections and even porous
furniture facilitate through-
ventilation. Says the
homeowner: “The cane sofas
[from Casablanca Cane,
Sydney] are great, because
they are so light you see
through them and they can
be carried inside and out.
They also serve as overflow
beds!”
When it comes to comfortable living in the tropics,
it’s common practice to build homes that do everything to keep the
outside out. We want to fight the heat, shut out the creepy crawlies and
seal off from the rain.
Not so for architect Zammi Rohan’s clients. They live on Magnetic
Island, where there’s five months of sultry weather, and have no air-
conditioning. In fact this couple, originally from New Zealand, open up
their house in the morning and leave it that way until bedtime. They have
been in the house since December last year and find this way of living a
delight.
“We don’t live in a single-unit air-conditioned box where you can
avoid relating to the outside environment almost totally,” says one of the
clients. “Sometimes visitors ask how we cope with insects at night but
this is because they haven’t noticed that the louvres are all screened.”
Like the insect screens, there’s a lot about this house you might not
notice initially. Closer inspection, however, reveals a home – which
incidentally won North Queensland House of the Year in the Australian
Institute of Architects awards and more recently a State Architecture
Award – built specifically for the site and climate, with minimal impact
on the natural landscape.
For example, you wouldn’t realise it, but the house was designed
purposely for single-handed construction – that is, just one man put the
building together. That same builder used leftover materials to fashion
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“The house was designed purposely for single-
handed construction – that is, just one man put
the building together.”
furniture for the home: a king-size bed, outdoor table and workbench.
While some prefabrication was done by the builder on the mainland,
a “back-to-basics” design philosophy also helped make single-handed
construction possible.
“I think it’s important that we do not create any more building than
we actually need,” Zammi says. “This house consists of only 107sqm
of enclosed area, which is very compact for a three-bedroom, two-
bathroom home. However we have provided almost 90sqm of deck
areas for outdoor living. These decks are less expensive and need fewer
resources to construct.
“We are fortunate in the tropics that we can use our outdoor areas for
the majority of the year, and by using these outdoor areas we require less
actual building to provide our habitable spaces.”
The internal space consists of three pavilions connected via
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deck pathways. The unimpeded breezeways, helped by fans in the The roof climbs toward the
hot weather, eliminate the need for air-conditioning. With all this south and reaches out to the
east and the west. Its shade
outdoor area and the vagaries of a tropical climate, it’s easy to assume (combined with cross
maintenance is an issue, but carefully chosen materials, combined with ventilation) helps keep the
house comfortable in the
passive design strategies, does away with the stress. hotter months, and the open
“The exposed structure is made from galvanised steel, the roof and aspect to the north does the
same in the winter.
majority of wall claddings are pre-finished custom orb and all painted
surfaces are protected by deep eaves to avoid deterioration from the sun
and rain,” Zammi says.
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Set on over three and a
half hectares of subtropical
“This house consists of only 107sqm of enclosed area,
bushland, the house is very
modest in scale, with a mere
however we have provided almost 100sqm of deck
107sqm of internal space
(by comparison, the average
areas for outdoor living. Decks are less expensive and
new house in the suburbs
is 240sqm). Allied to the
need fewer resources to construct.”
internal spaces is 88sqm
of covered breezeways
and decking, facilitating
an inside-outside lifestyle
perfectly suited to the North
Queensland climate.

“All materials have been selected for their lightweight properties.

The large sheet materials used for the roofing and cladding are readily
available and are quick and easy to install. If used appropriately these
materials can also help to strengthen and brace the house. Large sheets
mean minimal joints, and this provides good protection from water
ingress, particularly as horizontal rain is not uncommon.”
Another bonus of having a steel frame connected almost entirely with
bolts, rather than welding, is that the house can be easily disassembled or
an entire pavilion relocated.
For the clients, there is aesthetic value in being able to see how their
home has been put together.
“Every day we appreciate the slim and tall, yet strong, design of the
frame, the brilliant detailing of the roofs and windows and how, from any
place in the house, you can see how it has been made.”
Of course, the detailing in the roofs and windows isn’t just for
interest’s sake, but it so happens beauty is born from their pragmatic
purposes.
“The roofs are very much a direct response to the climate and site,”
Zammi explains.
“On the low-set pavilions the low side of the roof is along the north
to protect from the sun throughout the day. Also, the prevailing weather
is typically from this direction so the low roofline along this facade
provides good protection to doors and windows. On the south facade,
direct sunlight is not a problem so the roof rises up, giving us a good
opportunity to provide cross ventilation.
“Large roof overhangs are on all sides of the pavilions. This allows us
to include some high-level windows up under the eaves where it is fully
shaded but also lets generous amounts of natural light into all internal
areas throughout the day.”
Zammi’s clients have embraced his design objective, to “live with”
their environment rather than fight against it, and they are reaping the
rewards.

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The partly shaded pool, right
up close to the house, cools
the living spaces around it.
In winter it is solar heated,
for year-round swimming.

GROUND Floor Plan

01 Lap Pool
02 Guest Bedroom 01
03 Bathroom
04 Courtyard 05
05 Deck
06 Dining Room
07 Kitchen
08 Living Room
09 Ensuite 04 06 08
02 03
10 Study
11 Master Bedroom

07

11
09

10

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Much of what goes on in
the house occurs between
and around the three small
buildings, not in them. The
design is about creating
“more edge and less middle”,
as well as creating oppor-
tunities to interact with
the natural environment –
including its wildlife.

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Magnetic Island Residence

Designer Sustainable Features
Troppo Architects
— Renewable energy
Website – 3kW of Kyocera polycrystalline photovoltaic panels,
www.troppoarchitects.com.au grid connected. Cost (incl. installation): $28,000
— www.kyocerasolar.com.au
Builder – Sunny Boy 2500W SMA invertor
Frank Butterworth
— Water saving
Project type – Rainwater returned to aquifer
New building
— Passive heating & cooling
Project location – Breezway design – three pavilions connected via
Magnetic Island, QLD outdoor breezeways – eliminates the need for
— air-conditioning. 1.8m and 1.2m roof overhangs
Size around all three pavilions
107sqm internal, 43 sqm – Careful alignment of the house to the north and
undercroft, 88 sqm deck. Land retention of trees
area: 36,644sqm – Aircell insulation www.air-cell.com.au
– Central deck sail in white Ferrari vinyl
(www.ferrari-industry.com) with rain-release
spout. By C. Ede of Townsville
– Lap pool. From the architect: “We feel that a pool,
closely integrated into the house design, contributes
to passive cooling. While often regarded as a luxury, a
partly shaded pool, directly adjacent to the house,
cools both the inhabitants and the living spaces
around it, and in winter, of course, can be
solar-heated.”
Active heating & cooling
Airace stainless steel ceiling fans throughout
Building materials
– Galvanised steel structure with Colorbond cladding
and roofing, Fibre cement sheet cladding, timber
wall framing
– Spotted gum timber batten screens, floors and decks
– Nuts and bolts steel-frame architecture will facilitate
eventual recycling
Other ESD features
– Ramp approach to house, and all living areas above
ground, to minimise disturbance to site and trees
– Samsung LED TV Series 6 32 inch (they bought it
after it was reviewed in ReNew 109, p84)
– Smeg 29L Microwave Convection/Grill Oven
SA985-2CX (RRP $690)
From the homeowner: “The microwave is Smeg and it
is the short time that you use the microwave that is so
energy-efficient – especially given our electricity comes
from our solar array. It is a combi microwave - quite
brilliant, actually. If you take the time to learn you can
do anything in it. And fast.”

Windows & glazing

– Breezway glass and timber louvres throughout
www.breezway.com.au
– Custom-made cyclone resistant sliding walls in 6mm
toughened fixed glass and painted sheet.

Lighting
– Compact fluorescents and LEDs. 9W CFL bulbs and
1W LEDs from Crompton Lighting
www.crompton.com.au

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