Form and function
This is an excerpt from an article in Sanctuary magazine issue 19.
Balance, harmony, sustainability and self-sufficiency are the principles behind the design of this rammed earth and timber New South Wales coastal home.
Words Sasha Shtargot
Photography Simon Whitbread
You wouldn’t think a house in idyllic Charlotte Bay on the New South Wales mid-north coast needed much more to make it balanced and harmonious. Architect Ian Sercombe thought otherwise.
Ian, his wife Kate and their seven-year-old daughter Sage moved into their new three-bedroom rammed earth and timber home last year after 18 months of construction. Located in a tranquil hamlet between Newcastle and Port Macquarie and constructed with the help of a small group of tradespeople, the 256 square metre house and home office on a 2.5 hectare block is cleverly designed to make passive use of the plentiful mid-north coast sunshine and prevailing north-east breezes. The house faces north and is long and narrow, ensuring all the main rooms are well ventilated in summer. Eaves prevent direct summer sun entering the house; external shutters provide shade to windows on the east and west sides; and removable shade sails on a pergola control sunlight to the northern deck, stopping heat bouncing from the deck into the home.
If you’d like to read the rest of this article you can buy this issue here.
