The Butterfly, Display Homes Melbourne, Modern Home Designs
38 KANGAROO ROAD, MURRUMBEENA, VICTORIA
OPEN SAT & SUN 1-5PM
The “Butterfly” is a model of contemporary, sustainable living. The house gives the owner the opportunity to dwell in a home that is both beautiful and comfortable whilst being given piece of mind that they are contributing to a better future through a minimised impact of the environment.
The visitor is welcomed to the home via an angled wall which acts as a funnel to the low, timber covered entry. This then contrasts with the high ceiling of the hallway entrance which is bathed in natural sunlight via clerestory windows. This play and contrast of light and volume is a key feature of the house. The angled entry wall straightens out as you move along the hallway before opening on to the light filled living and kitchen area. A highlight of the house is the “butterfly” roof that sits in the middle of the living and kitchen area creating a dynamic focal point and providing passive heating and cooling.
Connection to the outdoor environment and garden are an essential element to the design. The home sits in a bed of greenery made possible through tank water collected on site and the living spaces are designed around drought tolerant garden beds. A “rain garden” collects overflow and first flush water from the roofs and will be a mirror to the seasons.
Passive solar design is the key to the buildings thermal performance. Glazing has been carefully placed to maximise solar gain from the north, minimise heat loss to the south and control solar gain from other orientations. This not only helps the performance of the home but creates a more delightful home to inhabit. High tech glazing is used throughout as well as above regulation insulation. The thermal mass provided via the exposed concrete slab helps maintain comfortable temperatures all year round with minimal additional heating and cooling.
Although a passive solar house would normally need to be designed specifically for every different block, the development of the “butterfly” roof has largely negated this need. The roof, which will be rotated depending on block orientation, has a number of benefits. It creates a dynamic form and volume both externally and internally, it is perfectly pitched and sized for solar panel integration without additional framing, it facilitates solar penetration from the north regardless of block orientation and catches cool southerly breezes in summer.
The materials used are a modern interpretation of sustainability and are both contemporary and earthy. An awning lined in timber battens wraps around the building providing targeted shading to windows with the ability to adapt to different orientation. The angled entry wall is a natural render which carries through the building and into the landscape.
The “butterfly” roof and entry pop up are covered in a slick metallic cladding that complement the integrated solar panels.
The “Butterfly” has been designed by integrating age old principles of passive heating and cooling with good, contemporary design. Rather than being a tacked on extra, the sustainability has driven the design, creating a home that is robust enough to perform thermally in almost any situation. The quality of spaces in the home are not compromised by performance, but are in fact enhanced through the play of light and volume provided by the pop up rooves and connection to the external environment. The building will provide the platform for the user to minimise their impact on the environment, but equally as important it will be a wonderful home to live in.
