One Size Fits All

If you are considering a custom-designed new home or planning a renovation then a ‘one size fits all’ approach is not going to result in an optimal outcome. Every project is unique and has different opportunities and constraints specific to the site, the location and your needs.

Some important factors to take into account are the location of the project and its position in the streetscape; the building regulations; overlays and local planning zones; the sun direction and daylight on the building (and site); the adjacent buildings and neighbouring plots; existing vegetation; accessibility; and the materials and specific experience of locally available builders. 

For example, the old ‘bricks & mortar’ analogy as a symbol of strength and resilience is not necessarily the best approach for your home and its specific location. Yes, bricks will last a century, provide good sound insulation, are easy to maintain and give you resilience to events such as bushfire attack, but they may not be the best material for your walls when you’re living on a suburban block, considering their poor thermal resistance and high thermal mass (becoming very hot in summer and retaining heat for a long time). The production of bricks uses gas-fired kilns, one of the highest consumers of gas in our country, resulting in high embodied energy which is not sustainably viable. 

Rather than see your site-specific factors as limitations or constraints, consider them as opportunities that will help you define the design of your future house (besides the grumpy neighbour who might give you a few sleepless nights).

Of similar importance to the physical factors is the behaviour of the future residents. Everyone is unique in the way they live and the activities they do in and around the house. I encourage you to keep an open mind and approach your future home as a unique creation designed specifically to suit you and your family's needs.

“Every building must have… its own soul” - Louis Khan