Best of est | Self-Sustaining Australian Homes and Cabins

‘Huch’

Location: Rural New South Wales

Design: Madeleine Blanchfield Architects

Madeleine Blanchfield Architects have planted a mobile, self-sustaining cabin in a lush valley in rural New South Wales. ‘Huch’ was conceptualised as a modest-scaled – 26 square metres to be exact – off-the-grid retreat for urban dwellers seeking to immerse themselves in nature while enjoying the comforts of a boutique hotel. Fabricated off-site in a workshop, with the mission of replicating the design in the future, the design needed to be transportable, reproducible and adaptable to different locations.

With this checklist front of mind, Madeleine Blanchfield Architects set out to design a cabin that was in tune with the natural environment. Namely, incorporating solar panels and battery storage, rainwater-harvesting tanks, cross ventilation, and materials that echoed the landscape were key considerations in achieving a sustainable, cohesive design. The landscape is also absorbed into the space through retractable walls and oversized windows, effectively dissolving the boundaries between inside and outside.

‘Courtyard House’

Location: Rural New South Wales

Design: CHROFI

CHROFI have designed “a modern interpretation of the traditional Australian rural home” on a secluded site in New South Wales. As its name suggests, the rectangular-shaped home is marked by a courtyard that can either be closed off, creating an intimate garden or opened up, immersing the home in its surroundings.

Being situated off the grid, Courtyard House is entirely self-sufficient, generating its own solar power, harvesting its own rainwater and relying on passive systems to naturally ventilate and shade the building. Additionally, the home is designed to have no sense of front, back, left or right, instead engaging with the landscape from all sides. To achieve this, CHROFI ensured that the prefabricated modules were concealed in the building’s final form, creating the impression of a uniform structure. Modules allow the design to be replicated and reconfigured depending on the unique site conditions.

‘Where Architects Live | Hannah Tribe’

Location: Bundeena, New South Wales

Design: Tribe Studio

Tribe Studio director Hannah Tribe has designed an environmentally-conscious kit home on the shores of Gunyah Beach, New South Wales, for her and her family to escape to from Sydney. The U-shaped home is cleverly planned around an internal courtyard and, despite its small footprint, comfortably comprises three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an open-plan kitchen, living and dining space. While the home is close to the water’s edge, Hannah says she opted for a single-storey home to create a more affordable structure that could be replicated in any setting, whether by the beach or in the bush.

When reflecting on the concept of prefabricated homes, Hannah admits it’s a long-held architects’ dream – ever since Le Corbusier’s modular Dom-Ino House, designed in 1914. “How we apply the logic of the industrial age to domestic construction to deliver better quality for lower cost is a seductive idea that has tempted generations of architects,” she says. Giving into the temptation, Hannah pre-cut all the timber and pre-machined all the joints for her house so that it could potentially be repeated on a somewhat remote site, where construction and materials may not be as readily available.

‘Warr Ferrington Residence’

Location: Rural Victoria

Design: Layan Architects

Nestled among tall grass and eucalyptus trees on a remote site 90 minutes north-west of Melbourne, this off-the-grid farmhouse has been a part of the landscape since the 1950s. Recently, Layan Architecture were engaged to restore the home and ensure its continued self-sufficiency in its rural environment.

One of the first impressions of Warr Farrington Residence is of a large timber deck featuring an existing native eucalyptus tree, providing an initial and pivotal link to the natural surroundings. This desire to retain as much of the home’s pre-existing features as possible informed Layan Architecture’s decision not to demolish anything but instead maximise what was already there. The result is a home that sits confidently yet gently in the landscape, its old charm still intact, with all the amenities one needs to lead an unhurried life in the bush.

‘Federal House’

Location: Byron Hinterland

Design: Edition Office

Deep in the Byron Hinterland lies a home in alignment with its surroundings. The architecture studio, Edition Office, is renowned for their environmentally sensitive designs that bring inhabitants closer to nature. Principal Kim Bridgland says, “[Federal House is] consciously aware of its outsider status within the traditional ownership and legacy of this landscape.” The design also consciously rejects formal qualifications of classic rural architecture, moving away from the settler-colonial homestead typology.

While Federal House’s remote location fosters a strong relationship with nature, it also challenges the home’s functioning within the landscape. Adept at overcoming such challenges, Edition Office incorporated rainwater tanks so water can be harvested on-site, with the addition of an aerated wastewater treatment system and solar panel heating. The pool and open verandahs also offer natural ventilation, inviting cool breezes throughout the dark home.