In its element
From Sanctuary magazine issue 9. Buy or subscribe.
By Rachael Bernstone
When architect James Stockwell was approached by a client to design a house in the Snowy Mountains he observed the teachings of the snowgums. Seeing how they were shaped by the wind, snow and rain, James realised he had to engage with the site’s challenges, rather than ignore them. “Nothing can be too proud or ignorant of the climate here, because it’s going to be knocked around,” James says. “The success of the building depends on how well it yields to that reality.”
The property’s existing shed – built by the client and her late husband more than 30 years ago – provided the first design cues. “It had a dirt floor and a pot belly stove and was surrounded by a huge earth mound to deflect the wind,” James says. “The family had camped there for many years, and my client had a great affinity with the land: propagating native plants, removing invasive species and generally looking after the place.”
The family wanted the new house to be low-cost, environmentally conscious, low-maintenance and fireproof, and large enough to accommodate three generations at once. They also wanted to capture expansive views across Lake Jindabyne to the Thredbo and Snowy Mountain valleys.
“I walked around with the clients and found a spot on a small ridge with a rocky outcrop just in front, which could act as a windbreak, and the views were spectacular,” James says. “There were gullies either side, so I knew that strong winds would strike the sides of the building. At that stage I didn’t have a design in mind, but I knew it had to be long and narrow to limit western exposure, with the broad side facing north, so I had a configuration and was looking for ideas.”
Studying the topography, climate, flora and fauna gave James some hints as to how the house might look. “I believed that if I could get in sync with the natural systems of the site, there might be ways to design building forms that hadn’t been seen yet,” he says. “I was keen to develop an architecture that would converse with the elements, rather than turning its back to them.
“That meant looking at water, snow, fire, wind and movement in the landscape, because it is always in flux,” he adds. “The appearance of that landscape reflects those natural systems and I thought it might throw up shapes for a building. I wanted to put my notions of ‘house’ aside, to see what might occur.”
His eureka moment happened quite by chance. “I was down there camping in a tent, when a beetle landed on my notebook,” James explains. “I tried to blow it off, but I couldn’t budge it, so I drew it instead. It hugged the ground but the wind passed over it. The shape seemed like a great idea for a building: one which grew up out of landscape.”
James used corrugated steel for the carapace of his beetle-shaped building, which has sloping walls and a vaulted roof. Inside, there are four bedrooms and a bathroom at the eastern end, with a combined kitchen, dining and living room at the western end, overlooking the two valleys.
In contrast with the reflective exterior, the domed ceiling is lined with Mini Orb corrugated steel, and the walls, doors, and joinery are constructed from pine frames and hoop-pine ply, materials that combine to create a cosy atmosphere, “like the inside of an egg,” James says.
Large windows on the long north-facing elevation flood the living areas with natural light and warmth from the sun, and the concrete slab floor provides excellent thermal mass. Passive systems are complemented by a wood-burning fireplace, which heats underfloor water pipes and hot water. Meanwhile, low-emission glass, wall and roof insulation and heavy curtains all help to maintain comfortable temperatures year-round, even when it’s snowing outside. A grid-connected photovoltaic array produces electricity, and two 13,500 litre tanks collect rainwater from the roof for domestic and fire-fighting purposes.
In keeping with the brief, it’s largely a maintenance free house, thanks to the unpainted exterior materials – steel and concrete. Long-lived and low maintenance, these are a good environmental choice, and their use can also reduce bushfire hazard. “In this home the owners can feel confident that there is little room for leaf litter to build up,” James explains. “The wind is so fierce that it blows leaves and twigs out of the nooks along the sides.”
