Beautiful, Sustainable Building Design
Greenhouse Grove
A beautiful biophilic greenhouse brings new life to this heritage home.
Our clients came to us, searching for an architect who could re-vitalise their beautiful, heritage, family home near Lake Wendouree in Ballarat. The charming double-brick home had an outdated rear addition, and was in need of a new bathroom, kitchen, living and dining room. The clients were keen to make these new living spaces healthy, comfortable and environmentally responsible.
The clients also wanted a space that could function as an outdoor living space and a productive greenhouse. As gardening enthusiasts, they were searching for a way to not only extend the growing season in this cold climate, but also extend the amount of time they could spend in comfort whilst surrounded by their garden.
Project Details
Ballarat has a reputation for being “old, gold and cold”. This heritage home was a good example of this! But the upgrades and new greenhouse were working with the climate to create spaces for our clients to feel comfortable in, and connected to the outdoors, all year round.
Who doesn’t love being surrounded by plants? It’s well documented (but also intuitively felt!) that the human-nature connection improves our wellbeing – because we are nature. Even on a modest inner-suburban-site, the connection to the natural world can be cultivated.
Named “Greenhouse Grove” for its primary purpose of creating connection between inside and outdoors – this project was all about designing a new comfortable and efficient open living space with flexible connection to the greenhouse. The greenhouse was to provide a new external protected garden room to enjoy the nature-connection of “the outdoors” in Ballarat all year round. The project prioritises improved thermal comfort, improved indoor air quality, improved connection to gardens on all sides of home, improved efficiency, improved beauty and biophilia.
The architectural response really was inspired by solar passive design, the surrounding established garden on the site and the clients desire for a flexible indoor / outdoor living space that they could enjoy year round. Stable indoor temperatures and a healthy indoor environment with low running costs were also a high priority, which were achieved by:
– Well insulated building envelope
– Well wrapped and taped external membrane for draft-proof addition
– Thermally-broken Aluminium (AWS Thermalheart) windows
– Controlled Ventilation with Zehner MVHR
– Solar gain in winter with appropriate shading for summer
– Greenhouse functioning as both an air-lock and sunroom
The home also has the following features:
– New Solar PV on roof
– No gas for cooking or for hot-water heating
– Reuse of existing concrete slab foundation
– Lightweight timber framing
– Excellent cross-ventilation
– Low embodied carbon materials
– Low VOC materials
– Sustainably sourced timber floor, wall and ceiling lining
– Productive food-garden
– Designed for future ramp from rear garage to new greenhouse entry to assist with aging in place
– Walking distance to local shops/medical/amenities
– Biophilic design
The integration of the building-science elements (what some would call ‘Passivhaus principles’) for healthy indoor air quality and hygrothermal control, Solar Passive design and biophilic design enriches the experiences and wellbeing of the occupants. Generous visual and physical connections to nature, natural light and materials are integral to the design, whilst the greenhouse creates flexible indoor and outdoor environments for its users to experience.
Team
Architect: Envirotecture
Builder: Conscious Construction Co.
Photographer: Marnie Hawson
