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fraser residence: "well, blow me down!" The site represented a opportunity to
design a house which really engaged
with the landscape, and in particular
making visible one transient part of it
which is very powerful in this particular
place… the wind. The site for is an
exposed hillside overlooking other
gently rolling dales that form the base
of Tamar Valley but it is thus very
open to all the severe winds that often
sweep down from Bass Strait. At these
times, it is in fact difficult to even stand
up without being blown over, and the
house is in such a place is response to
the wind, both literallyand stylistically.
There are two living rooms, the first an enclosed interior for when
people need to be separate from the elements (containing a skylight and
large central slow combustion stove) and the second, an open space,
where there is one complete glass wall to the expansive views.
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The roof of the open space is a curved wing, which thrusts itself
outagainst the prevailing gales. It is held down by a rear concrete
block wall which also acts as high thermal mass. The extension of the
roof was calculated to completely screen the glass wall in summer yet
allow maximum sun penetration in winter. Linked with a quarry tile paved
concrete slab floor, this space forms the passive solar heating element
for the whole house. Floor slabs are insulated from the surrounding
earth and the whole interior is warm in winter and cool in summer. But
the overriding interest was achieving an appropriate poetic expression
of the landscape and the forces of nature. Passive solar houses do not
need to be uptight and boring. The place is a testimony to clients who
generousness allowed such a design to be evolved, and the final results
speak for themselves.
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