Source:
Imagine a house that generates
its own electricity, warms and cools itself, provides its own water and food –
including fish, vegetables, eggs and honey – powers its own car, is smothered
in greenery and is still in the middle of inner-city Sydney.
Impossible? No. Welcome to The
Jungle House is the brainchild of one of Australia’s champions of sustainable
architecture Clinton Cole, who has already won plaudits from around the world
for his ground-breaking home.
And now it’s also a finalist in
the first-ever People’s Choice competition held as part of the 2020 NSW
Architecture Awards.
“It was designed to attract attention,” said Mr Cole, the
director of CplusC Architectural Workshop. “It’s making a statement that
sustainability can be integrated into the aesthetic of a very comfortable
family home, and we couldn’t be happier with it.
“We’ve spent a lot of time at home over the past three
months, and it was probably the perfect place to be … even though the kids went
a bit stir-crazy by the end.”
The three-storey house in Darlington, hidden behind the
heritage-listed facade of an old warehouse, is now one of the favourite homes
to take out the inaugural People’s Choice award in the Isolation Oasis category
of the annual ceremony on July 3.
President of the NSW Australian Institute of Architects
Kathlyn Loseby says she understands why it’s touched such a chord with people.
“I’m a big fan of the Welcome to the Jungle House and the way
it deals with so many factors and considerations that so much housing, and
commercial buildings, should also be considering in the future,” she said.
“It has zero carbon, produces its own
energy and food and recycles all its waste. It’s also a delightful environment
to be in. It’s the triple whammy. The architect has also been great in opening
up his home to other people to show them what can be achieved. It’s often said
that an architect’s house is their temple for experimenting – and this is his,
and it’s wonderful!”
The house has already gained industry recognition, including
being highly commended at the National Sustainability Awards for both New House
and Intelligent Building, at the 2019 World Architecture Festival Awards held
in Amsterdam in December, and the 2019 Master Builders Association Design &
Construct Excellence in Housing Award.
The Welcome to the Jungle House sits on a 98-square-metre
triangular-shaped corner site, where it was designed and built to show that
sustainable practices can be adopted, no matter how small the area, and still
not compromise on the luxurious lifestyle a home can offer.
It has a long-lasting, low-maintenance steel structure, and
is carefully oriented to enjoy passive solar heating.
There are banks of vertical solar panels on the facade – in
order to leave the rooftop free for a garden – a battery system, cooling
through cross-ventilation and a wind-powered generator.
A central spiral staircase makes the most of the space
available, there’s a system to store rainwater underground, and harvest and
recycle it, and the glass inner skin of the home can be opened or closed
according to the weather, with the space between that and the outside walls
used to provide passive thermal regulation.
There’s greenery to provide shade, cooling and a beautiful
outlook from all rooms, while C-Bus automation controls a ream of features
including the LED lighting. There’s also an electric car-charging station.
The garden on the roof has a hive for native bees, a
1600-litre aquaponics fish pond stocked with edible silver perch, a chicken run
and planter beds for growing vegetables, fruits and herbs.
The beds are irrigated with nutrient-rich water from the pond
while, in return, there’s a composting system that provides worms to feed the
fish and for the garden.
“Originally it was a shop-top terrace with a butcher below,
and before that a corner store,” said Mr Cole. “When I bought it, it was
completely derelict and then afterwards I discovered the facade was
heritage-listed, so I had to incorporate that into the design.
“But it made it easier in the end. It’s been a
conversation-starter with literally hundreds of people saying they used to know
someone who lived there, or used to go there, and it’s helped make it an even
more positive story.
“Some people even told me, not knowing it was mine, that they
hated the new building but then I’d take them on a tour, and they liked it.”
So far, there have been over 3000 votes received in the
People’s Choice awards.
