Green Rate - Building Energy Rating collaborated with 3D Building Design & Drafting to win recognition at the 2nd annual 10 Star Challenge held by the Building Designers Association Victoria (BDAV).
Green Rate and 3D Building Design & Drafting were among the 18 entrants awarded recognition for successfully designing a 10 Star house.
According to BDAV, the 10-Star Challenge is for conceptual projects that combine admirable architecture with efficient planning solutions and materials utilisation. A 10 Star energy efficient home uses clever design to take advantage of the sun’s energy in winter, and utilise shading and cross-flow ventilation for free cooling in summer. The home design almost or completely eliminates the need for artificial heating or cooling to maintain a comfortable temperature inside the house all year round.
While the challenge was for conceptual projects, Paul Caldwell of 3D Building Design & Drafting said their house design was of a real block in Eltham that a young couple intend to build later in 2012.
The house features reverse brick veneer on all external walls. An innovative construction technique, reverse brick veneer has the brick work on the inside and a timber frame with lightweight cladding on the exterior, making greater use of the bricks’ inherent thermal mass, which helps stabilise temperatures inside the home. Double glazed windows and high levels of insulation are also used to maximise the home’s thermal efficiency.
This 10 Star House features a large open living plan on the ground floor with large northern windows spanning the full width of the building. There are three bedrooms upstairs, one with ensuite as well as an additional bathroom. The house also includes a study, laundry and double lock-up garage.
Though the materials used on this house are commonly specified for 6 Star homes, Caleb Young of Green Rate explains that it is the intuitive design and way in which these materials are used, which takes an ordinary house to a 10 Star house.
