The climate of Djilimbardi is of semi-arid. The initial thoughts I had after analysis of the climate were:
- majority high temperatures all year round
- cool but very rarely cold night time temperatures
- low range humidity (20 - 40%)
- winds mostly from the east (from the internal desert plain - perhaps hot?)
- high rainfall during the wet (summer) season
- the site is basically flat.

My initial concept expanded on the 'eco-tent' & 'perma-tent' idea of scattered living quarters.
Winter heat gain is not specifically a requirement as the temperatures are still relatively warm, and given there is little rain at this time, the air would be dry, therefore orientation to the equator is not essential.
Although the breezes from the east are across the desert plain, as the humidity is low, the breeze will have a cooling effect, therefore capture of cross ventilation would be essential to displace the hot air from within the 'tents'.
As the sun will be of intense heat, protection from the west is a priority. A 'sculptural' wall to the west will allow some design license whilst also providing shade to this elevation.
From our initial discussions and brainstorming, setting the tank underneath the building was an option for assisting protection as well as reducing our 'footprint' on the site. (this would later be discussed in detail as to the elevation footprint perhaps being too overpowering.) Therefore elevating the dwellings above the ground with suspended floor would provide for the tank (& additional food/car storage), provide additional cross ventilation and also raise the space above waterlogged and flooded grounds.

Issues with the concept
- large planar footprint
- height could become an issue
- secular and heirachial living/accommodation spaces

The 'perma-tent' was a little less resolved. It was more a small house than an extension of minima. However being permanent occupants, it is assumed more 'space' is required to live there comfortably.

My plan of minima was easily converted to my thoughts on domus. I saw there being small 'eco-tents' for our 8 temporary guests. The scattered tents were my interpretation of minimal impact on the site itself. The "tent" look being something of the nomadic style of living of the original owners of the land. (this would later change due to project brief area contraints).
Possibly 4 'eco-tents' and one communal living/eating/study space (however not very condusive to prodtuctive study).

"Minima" in its selected site

plan of "minima" fully assembled.

"minima" fully disassembled - ready for transportation.

plan of "minima" fully disassembled
- ready for transportation.

Domus Ideas

These are my initial sketches for the domus project

Minima final posters

These are my Minima Final posters. I called it Origami Compact as the walls roof and floors all fold in on itself and pack flat (to make it demountable) and then be transported on a truck.

My design covers a range of ideas and solutions to the task given. Such as: rain water collection and hose system to solar heat the water, solar panels and wind turbine combination to power the building, a desanination device to purify water from the waterfront if stores run low as limited water can be collected from roof, skylight for added natural lighting, private access to a balcony via double glass doors, cross ventilation across the west ot east axis, storage tanks for waste and water, and sani flo devices installed to reduce waste.

Blow are images of my model including how it is demountable.

Minima Project - "CM3"

My original Minima design will form the basis of my "satellite" module design:

Photos of model (scale 1:20)

Here are some of the original thumbnails that I produced last week, interestingly enough several members in our team came up with similar ideas. In our group we discussed several ideas, incorporating indigenous stories into the building's form. We agreed with several design principles

- Elevating the structure from the ground, not only to increase cooling the structure by allowing wind/breeze to pass under the structure and avoid flooding in wet season, but more importantly to pay homage to the way in which aboriginal people would construct look out towers, to help fend of attacks. In this instance, the elevated structure would not only serve a cultural purpose/point of reference, it would also give residents of the house an uninterrupted 36o degree views of the surrounding landscape

- Separate the guest quarters from the main building, where the design team (us!) will reside. This is done to not only delineate living quarters (between permanent residents and guests) but to also to provide guest to embark on a 'journey' when making their way to one of 4 self contained huts. I drew inspiration from my 3m3 Minima design in which a cube-module enables guests to sleep, cook, bathe and enjoy the views/landscape

- Include water tank under the structure (shade and depth will assist in keeping water a cooler temperature compared to air temperature)

- The aboriginal people have a real affinity for the concept of embarking on a 'journey' - in this instance, guests walk from the main building, to one of 4 guest modules via elevated and shaded walk ways. Not only does the shaded walkway provide shelter from both the sun and rain, it also gives us the opportunity to fix the top side of the roof structure with photovoltaic cells. At this point, we're playing with the farthest module being located no more that 100m from the main building.

Walkways - sheltered and open

- 2 modules will be placed either side of the main building, and positioned in an S-shape, to emulate the shape of a serpent (again, a story entrenched in the aboriginal psyche)

- The shape of the main building will be in the shape of a rigid S-shape, with the roof line (in section) mirroring this effect. See sketches below. Although I'm still playing with having a roof line that silhouettes Uluru, in effect a concave form. Again, this is a reference to an iconic aboriginal landmark, which is very dear and sacred to them as a people

- Access to the building will be from within the structure - you walk under the main building and come via an internal staircase - this way, as you approach the top of the stairs and turn right, the landscape is almost 'framed' for you, with the aid of large concertina doors.

- The spine of the building will sit in a NE orientation, to maximise winds that originate from the SE. This will assist in cross ventilation

- In terms of materiality, I'm proposing mud bricks, light steel structure (avoiding thermal mass in this climate is the way to go), and the use of triple glazing and triple building envelope, 2 of which are louvre-type screens (increasing shade). I would like to create a weathered and rustic feel, to complement the landscape

The look and feel I want to create.

-

I'm also playing with the idea of providing a 'grandstand' style seating area, that would double up as both stairs to the first level, as well as a seating area in which to enjoy the views, while having a glass of wine with both friends and guests

I also like the idea of a vertical garden:

Project 1 - Minima (presentation board/model/thumbnails/analysis)

A1 Landscape Board:-

Site location/analysis

Minima research

Ideas Development

Design Drawing(Plan/Sections)

A 3D visual presentation

*UPDATED PICTURE OF MODEL*

*Site Analysis and Thumbnails of Initial Ideas*

These were my 2 posters for minima.

Small home alteration delivers big water and energy savings Open Sunday 30 August 2009 10am – 4.30pm

If you’d like to see some practical ways to save energy, water and significantly reduce your electricity, gas and water bills, then you should visit 39 Smart Street Hawthorn (Melway 45:B9) on Sunday 30 August 2009 from 10am – 4.30pm.

The Street family, Broderick, Vivienne and Alexander, will open their sustainable home for a fee of $10 to help fund the Erasmus Primary School’s ‘Save 2 million black balloons’ project.

Erasmus School is raising money to replace 181 ceiling lights with energy efficient globes.. Compared to the old globes, 76,000 kWh of electricity will be saved, resulting in a reduction of 100 tonnes in greenhouse gases over the life of the new fittings. If each black balloon represents 50 g of greenhouse gases, 100 tonnes of greenhouse gases = 2 million black balloons”:

On show is a living example of how to transform a dark and cold 1890s brick cottage into a restful place, with abundant natural light and air and clever use of space. This inspirational small home was altered in 2002 so that most of the family’s energy and water needs come directly from the sun and rain.

The open house will allow you to see:
• passive heating and cooling design
• 1000 litre greywater treatment system using a non-toxic ‘foam fractionation’ process to produce very high quality for toilet and garden.
• 9000 litre rainwater storage
• 1.35 kW ‘grid-connected’ photovoltaic panel system and solar hot water system.

Other sustainability features in this home include a greenroof vegetable garden, hot water recirculation plumbing, DIY solar hot water reflector, radiant heat barrier roof paint and extensive use of recycled building materials.

Even Melbourne’s record dry this year is not a problem for the Streets. This family of three used only 26 litres per person per day of mains water from 1 January to 31 July 2009 by using filtered rainwater twice.

As you walk through the house Brod and Vivienne have labelled their appliances and provided graphs to show annual energy and water consumption.

With the new Victorian Premium Solar Electricity Feed-in-Tariff, Brod and Vivienne will not pay any more electricity bills.

The more technically-minded can also see how the entire house is independently monitored to record information accessible over the internet. This allows the family to track their use of virtually every last watt of power or litre of rainwater, greywater and mains water.

Bookings essential: phone 9815 3858




FACT SHEET

1 January 2009 to 31 July 2009

39 SMART STREET HAWTHORN



39 Smart St Hawthorn Rest of Melbourne for same period

House Roof area
110 sqm
? size for new homes

Number of occupants
3
2.67 average per house

Water

Mains water use
16,800 litres
91,185 litres

Mains water use/person/day
26 litres
166 litres

Rainwater used
22,500 litres
------------

Greywater treated and recycled for toilet and garden
16,600 litres
------------

Energy

Gas use
6 GJ
35 GJ

Electricity import
916 kWh
3,400 kWh

Solar electricity export from a 1.35 kW system

692 kWh

-----------

Hot water use/hh/d
100 litres
187 litres

Yearly solar credits of 1200 kWh

Hi Team (Taliesen 4),

14/08/2009

Studio 2B Lecture notes; W.A site,

Analyzing the Climate,

Ancient landscape

Look to use lightweight materials

Think about water management (shading)

When it rains it rains a lot and often when it’s hot. When it’s hot it’s really hot

Only small shrubs in the area

Cyclone prone area

Diverse soils and can be lush

People prefer if cold to rug up at night also protect themselves against the rain not cold with clothing

USE SHADE AND WIND (CROSS VENTILATE)

People love breezes and follow the shade

Watch orientation as site is right near the ‘Tropic of Capricorn’

Seasons are ‘Hot Wet’ being quite humid and ‘Hot Dry’ being relatively dry

FILMS TO WATCH

The Proposition

Tracker

Tasks – Analyzing the Climate (think passive heating and cooling design)

1. Ecotect – Matt

2. Climate zone (Building Typology & Mahoney Tables) – Brent

3. Precedence Studies – Shannon

4. Site Plan/Precedence Studies – Dane

5. Site Section/Precedence Studies – Dave

Note, look into 1. Tropo Architects, 2. Glen Mercott, 3. Iredel Pederson… 4. Indigenous architecture for precedence.