Brief

Craft a healthy and energy-efficient home, bathed in natural light, featuring a minimalist modern architectural style that adheres to Passive House standards. Customized for a young family of four, the house budget ranges from $1.1M to $1.2M, exclusive of landscape and approvals costs.

Design & Approvals

The design and approvals process involves the seamless coordination of multiple consultants to ensure the most optimal outcomes for the project. This includes a space-planning interior designer who shapes the house’s ambiance, room functions, facade style, and natural light. Additional consultants, such as an arborist for tree root mapping requirements, a hydraulic engineer for OSD stormwater requirements, a structural engineer for slab complexity, and a passive house consultant. Each consultant plays a crucial role in gradually shaping the project, guided by client preferences, to deliver an optimal outcome for design, budget, and approval requirements. This comprehensive process typically takes 3 to 5 months to complete, following a CDC approvals pathway, setting the stage for the pre-construction phase.

Challenges

The site, situated on a steep slope exceeding 3m, presented unique challenges that required innovative solutions. The design team skillfully navigated these challenges to fulfill all client requirements while securing approvals under the CDC pathway. Preserving the client’s budget during the design phase and attaining Passive House certification were paramount goals. The design ingeniously incorporated a basement solution to accommodate the client’s living space requirements, facilitating multigenerational living. Leveraging the site slope as an advantage to thoughtfully develop the design.
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