Narrabundah House

This architecturally inspired residential home is located in a small suburb of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) called Narrabundah. The surrounding leafy mature trees and vast bushland are the backdrop for this amazing project.

Adam Dettrick Architects were chosen to design this home. The brief was to create an open plan living space for the home, whilst maintaining privacy in the bedroom and bathrooms. The clients required a home that accommodated for entertaining as well as being able to be easily closed in for privatisation.

Architects designed this home spatially; it is defined by the separation of living areas from sleeping areas with a central hallway. The prominent living area is shaped like an angular ‘bow tie’. It is then offset by a bedroom and bathroom wing, which is separated from the main living spaces. The garage, laundry and storage spaces are also separated by a separate wing.  

The climate in Narrabundah is renowned for its cooler temperatures year round. The living areas open up to the north at the rear, harnessing the winter sun and addressing an elegant eucalypt. The walls and roof telescope beyond the living areas at each end of the house. From the living areas and terraces, the architects have encompassed the views of trees and landscape, yet the backyard is private to the street.

Adam Dettrick worked closely with highly experienced local window and door manufacturer Monaro Windows, to ensure a perfect window and door solution for this home. Elevate™ Series 704 Sliding Doors were used to the back of the property to open up the indoor living spaces to the backyard. As the Elevate™ systems are custom made, this allowed Adam the opportunity for a large custom sliding door that takes up almost the entire back wall of the home.

ThermalHEART™ Series 726 aluminium awning windows were used on top of the thermally broken Series 731 Sliding Doors to ensure cross ventilation throughout the home.

Sustainability principles and simple passive design techniques underpin the environmental performance of this home, as the design incorporates good orientation, sun shading, double glazing, heavy insulation and non-toxic materials combined to provide year round comfort and liveability. The house design combines strong order through the use of materials yet softness through the visible landscape and colour choice. 

This project has gone on to win the 2014 ACT Architecture Awards for Residential Architecture- Houses (new).