Architect Mark Wilson of Danette Architecture relied on various Gyprock plasterboard products to bring his design concepts to life at a new home in Sydney's beachside suburb of Maroubra.
Wilson worked with builder MAG Constructions on this stunning four-bedroom, semi-detached property, which was designed to not only be light and spacious, but also reflect the character of the neighbourhood.
Seamless design, use of quality materials and clean, contemporary lines contributed to the home's impressive look. Glass sliding doors were installed on the rear wall leading out to the garden and pool area to maximise the space flowing from the living area, and provide a smooth transition between the indoor and outdoor spaces.
“The rear open-plan ground floor addition provides a link to the external garden with a covered verandah and the pool,” explains Wilson. “This allows the homeowners to enjoy the space all year round, with the added benefit of a larger living area and continuous flow from inside to out.”
The architect also designed bulkheads around the perimeter of the kitchen, living and dining spaces to add interest to the open plan layout, using Gyprock plasterboard to bring these designs to life. This unique design feature adds visual interest through the varied ceiling height and seamlessly separates the area.
“When you create an open plan area you want to avoid it looking like a big box, so visual interest is needed,” Wilson said. “The bulkheads separate the spaces while blending in with the open plan layout, as the eye is attracted to the ceiling angulations.”
For the ceiling lighting, dimmable LED strip lights were used in the bulkhead along with downlights, enabling the homeowners to provide ambient lighting to the open plan space and only use downlights for task lighting.
A dropped ceiling was installed in the kitchen area, enabling high level aluminium grilles to be used as a functional design element for the air-conditioning.
“Rather than just a number of unsightly holes in the ceiling for the ducted air-conditioning system, the dropped ceiling with the grilles provides interest making it beautiful and slick, and making the ceiling appear higher,” Wilson said.
In addition to the bulkheads, Gyprock plasterboard was also used for the internal walls – this wouldn’t have been possible with the more traditional method of brickwork and concrete. By using Gyprock internally, a timber frame could be used instead of steel and brick.
“With brickwork and concrete there are certain construction limitations as you have to design around the brickwork, but by using a light timber frame and Gyprock plasterboard, you have more creative freedom and versatility.”
Plasterboard offers design flexibility, and is also cost-effective and lightweight, allowing for any sized room to be designed with ease and speed.
“The use of insulation in the walls paired with Gyprock plasterboard allows us to create very good acoustic values between rooms.”
The white and wooden palette was selected to suit the contemporary architecture of the property. While the timber flooring and kitchen cabinetry add warmth, the white walls and ceiling allow natural light to reflect around the space.
Though the homeowners were originally unsure about the size of the open plan living area, they were thrilled with the final outcomes once the plasterboard ceilings and walls were installed, and the true volume of the space was evident.
Wilson relied on Gyprock products to help create the cohesive and seamless design desired for the property. Gyprock wall systems were a practical choice and chosen for their excellent insulation and acoustic qualities.
“With the use of insulation in the walls, the house performs excellently when implemented into the Thermal Performance section of BASIX – the Energy Rating software we must design to for residential designs in NSW,” he explained. “This considerably reduces the need for heating and cooling the house.”
Gyprock Fyrchek, a fire-resistant and acoustic grade plasterboard was also used in the renovation to achieve the required fire ratings for the party wall between the two semi-detached properties, and comply with BCA requirements.
Wilson added that the builder preferred using Gyprock as it was easy to install as part of the overall wall system.
“It's a very versatile and flexible product to use when building to create walls on steel or timber framed walls,” he explained. “We like to use one overall company system for internal wall linings, insulation, sarking and cladding systems to ensure the building meets BASIX and BCA and AS code requirements. We have the assurance the systems have been routinely tried and tested and our homeowners like to be assured that the systems have warranties. Plus, we know the product can be used with paint and tiles, is GECA accredited and may be recyclable at the end of its lifespan.”
The homeowners love the finished design and layout of their newly renovated home, complete with its sleek, clean lines and interesting ceiling design.
