Thermomass concrete sandwich panels from Composite Global Solutions were
used in an award-winning residential construction in Hanging Rock.
Designed by Kerstin Thompson Architects (KTA), who chose Thermomass
concrete sandwich panels to meet the client’s desire for a ‘brutalist use of
materials’, the house at Hanging Rock has been able to harmonise a correctly
proportioned form with function that manages to seamlessly integrate with the
natural surroundings.
The KTA-designed home won several awards including Australian Institute
of Architects Victorian State Harold Desbrowe-Annear Award for Residential
Architecture and Australia’s top residential architectural prize, the 2014
Robin Boyd Award for Residential House.
Composite Global Solutions’ Thermomass concrete sandwich panels were
used for the walls to ensure their project delivered an optimum thermal
envelope that could withstand even the harshest of summers, while still
satisfying the strict Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) rating required in the area.
Uniquely suited to the Australian climate that often experiences wild
temperature differentials throughout a 24-hour period, Thermomass concrete
sandwich panels are installed in such a way that the insulation is placed towards
the outside of the panel, leaving the bulk of the internal mass on the inside
of the structure. This reduces diurnal swings significantly and eliminates the
need for additional non-passive cooling.