Project Description

Longwood’s make up of rammed earth, timber and steel make it feel like a building of a bygone era, but is brought into the present day by modern Australian architecture, high-end finishes and artisans that take pride and passion in what they are achieving. Energy efficiency, solar passive design and environmental building practices were at the core of the construction ethos.

The entire home was built to an exacting 600mm grid. For instance, there are v-joints that run on both the x and y-axis throughout the house, unbroken from the ground right through to the roofline. There is also a 2400mm high datum line detailed in Blackbutt that runs unbroken around the entire exterior and interior of the house.

The use of rammed earth throughout the north-facing wall, which includes a large curved walkway, connecting the living and entertaining areas to the guest wing, offers a thermal mass which is solar heated during the day slowly releasing that warmth over the next 12 hrs to achieve an ambient temperature throughout the house. Timber highlight windows and large top hung sliding doors that sit perched upon the rammed earth, offer light and warmth, all working to reduce energy consumption.