Yallingup: An Energy Efficient Eco House

Designing a Sustainable Home for a Young Family

Threadgold Architecture, led by architect Stuart Threadgold, has designed a remarkable eco house in Yallingup, Western Australia. The Yallingup house is an embodiment of sustainable living, incorporating passive solar design principles and utilizing the latest environmentally friendly technologies.

The site demanded a house-on-the-hill that dominated the horizon and overlooked the orchards, capturing the presence of the property. The natural Australian bush setting informed the siting location of the house, while the micro-environmental factors informed the massing and form of the living spaces.

The Yallingup house is power and water self-sufficient, incorporating a 5.5 kilowatt photovoltaic system behind an anthra zinc parapet. With a 400-liter solar hot water system and a rainwater storage capacity of 550,000 liters, the house is designed to minimize its environmental impact.

The design team faced the challenge of a "Design and Construct" construction program, which required providing design solutions while the builder was already on-site. However, their meticulous research into the latest environmentally sustainable technologies and their expertise in passive solar design for the southern hemisphere resulted in a successful and innovative design.

The house delivers a single level of north-facing internal and external living space, protected from prevailing south-west winter weather patterns. It provides ideal climate-controlled living spaces suitable for a young family throughout all four seasons, delivering the sustainable lifestyle sought by the family that is not dependent on the power grid. Surrounding the house are citrus, nut, and pomme fruit orchards, which were laid out according to permaculture principles as part of the design brief.

The Yallingup house, with its 300mm thick in-situ rammed limestone walls, Corten cladding, VM Zinc anthra zinc cladding, and powder-coated aluminum window frames, is a testament to the seamless integration of design and technology. The result is a stunning and energy-efficient home that stands as a model for sustainable architecture.

The Yallingup house, designed by Threadgold Architecture, was awarded the Silver A' Design Award in 2016. This prestigious award recognizes the outstanding expertise and innovation demonstrated in the design. The Yallingup house showcases a remarkable level of excellence, introducing positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.

Image Credits: Olivier Marill Photography

Intellectual Property Notice: Copyright Threadgold Architecture 2016