Project: U-Shape Family Home – The Ash House
Architects: Dalecki Design
Location: Western Australia
Year 2018
Photographer: Dion Robeson
The owner’s of ‘The Ash’ came to Dalecki Design looking to create a light, bright home with a functional layout utilising a layered, mixed material palette. As a young, growing family, it was imperative that the home was not only suited to their current lifestyle needs, but also supported them through the different stages of life. It was also extremely important for the family that there be a strong connection between the indoor and outdoor living zones that takes advantage of the block’s northern aspect.
Working closely with the client, Dalecki Design was able to create a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom family home with a durable, mixed material palette that will stand the test of time, with the inherent beauty of each product ageing alongside the growing family.
Dalecki Design created a U- shape layout for the home, which wraps around a central courtyard and alfresco zone, creating a cohesive indoor/outdoor connection. This layout allows the home owners to have views to the outdoors from all areas of the house, whilst also allowing the northern sun to penetrate through the open courtyard and into the home.
Openings throughout the home are strategically positioned to gain winter northern sun whilst also capturing the summer breezes. The pond on the southern orientation of the home acts as a ‘cooling zone’ to further assist in cooling these summer breezes before they enter the home, whilst also providing a dual sided outdoor view from the open plan living zone.
Given the home’s footprint takes up a large percentage of the block, layered landscaping has been incorporated to ensure that wherever the family may be within the home, they will have clear views of external greenery. This includes the rooftop garden which has been incorporated to provide a sense of being grounding with the surrounding environment from the upper level of the home.
The layered material palette incorporates feature brick and block work which seamlessly flows from inside to out, as well as exposed concrete and timber to add a textural dimension to the simple form of the house. The continuation of the layered, mixed material palette from the internal to external zones aids in the flow between the indoors and outdoors, creating cohesion between these two spaces. The home owners experience the sense of cohesion between the two zones as soon as they walk through the front doors, being greeted with obscured views of the central courtyard through a breeze wall screen, providing an immediate connection whilst still retaining an aspect of privacy.
The U-Shape family home has been separated in to two distinct zones over two floors, allowing both the children and the parents to have their own space and privacy as they grow. The home’s compact, yet spacious functional layout means there are no large distances to travel between internal spaces, with the ability to easily site and communicate between spaces creating a sense of connection internally between all zones.
A feature two and a half storey entry void, with north facing clerestory windows have been incorporated to flood natural light to the central passage, brightening a traditionally dark area of the home and diffusing light throughout to create a light, bright home.
