YBE2004 Houses of the Future
In Australia, 2004 was declared as the year of the Built Environment.
Six Houses of the Future were designed and built, everyone of them
having their own presenting sponsor, representing six different base
materials. In the accompanying exhibition catalogue, Chris Johnson
says: "(...) Our vision is not to immediately see houses like
this spreading across Australian suburbia. The idea of an exhibition
or prototype house is to break the boundaries of convention. Our
vision is that the housing industry and its consumers will be encouraged
to think differently, to desire better outcomes.”
The exhibitions showed a cardboard house, a clay house, a concrete house,
a glass house, a steel house and a timber house.
The Timber House
‘(...) the house uses a large range
of timber products in innovative and unusual ways. Every part of the
building is innovative, from the high-density wood-fibre external cladding
to the nano-technology solar cells used to generate electricity. The
basic design concept behind Timber House is a twisted ribbon or “moebius
strip”, a geometry that twists around itself. The walls, floors
and roof are part of the same surface, with a spectacular red glass
ribbon of solar cells that dissects through the dark surface of the
building.’
Architects:
Innovarchi: Stephanie Smith & Ken McBride
presented by: Timber Development Association
Dimensions: l: 13.5m; w: 9.9m
The Steel House
‘The Steel House (...) floats a protective
secondary roof over the main body of the building to provide upper
air movement to moderate temperatures in the interior. (...) the Steel
House is a prefabricated module that can be easily trannsported and
rerected anywhere. Called the “Abode”, the house is available
in a single or a double module, and can be purchased from the architects’
own website.’
Architects: Modabode:
Paul Lucas & Sarah Bickford
presented by: Integrated Steel Solutions, Ripa, TunnelTech
Dimensions: l: 15m; w: 5m
The Clay House
‘The Clay House (...) rethinks courtyard
housing with zero setbacks and is a very sensible solution to the diminishing
land resources available in Australian urban areas. A protective wall
surrounds the building in beautiful clay products, and a series of
glass sliding screens connect inside to outside around the north facing
courtyard. The inverted roof, made of a double layer of glass, integrates
photovoltaic cells to generate electricity, and operable louvres control
the extend of light and shade to the open plan living area.’
Architects:
Environa Studio: Tone Wheeler & Jan O'Connor
presented by: Clay Brick & Paver Association of NSW
Dimensions: l: 12.1m; w: 8.5m
The Concrete House
‘The Concrete House presents us with
the very essence of concrete in a surprising way. The flowing circular
walls to the rooms, combined with simple planar slabs above and below,
provide a practical but esoteric solution (...). flexible curtainns
close or open the rooms to define the extent of the living space. Not
many will purchase an exact replica of the Concrete House. However,
concrete’s excellent thermal mass and ability to precast in factory
conditions could lead to significant innovation in the Australian housing
some time in the future, just as Japan is already doing now.’
Architects:
NSW Government Architect's office: Peter Poulet & Michael Harvey
presented by: Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia
Dimensions: l: 15m; w: 5m; H: 4m
The Cardboard House
Much less permanent than concrete is the Cardboard
House (...). Seen as a genuine solution to short—term or temporary
housing, the Cardboard House demonstrates how we can recycle a major
component of the waste stream to provide a highly sustainable and extremely
low cost structure. The finished dwelling, which uses recycled and
recycleable cardboard, plastic plumbing components and waterproof skin,
is a direct challenge to the housing industry to reduce housing and
environmental costs.’
Architects:Stuchbury
and Pape: Peter Stuchbury & Richard Smith
presented by: University of Sydney & Visy Specialties
Dimensions: l: 10.2m; w: 5.1m: h: 6.1m
‘(...) Nanotechnology is an emerging area that is concerned with the control of matter on the scale of atoms and molecules. Material scientists (...) believe that with molecular control of matter, materials can be “smarter” and are able to change their properties to varying climatic conditions, light, sound or occupant interaction. Glass is a material that can already incorporate nanotechnology. Suddenly many of our old preconceptions about glass disappear – it can be self-cleaning, made thermally efficient using “low-E” glass, or made opaque at the touch of a button! The Glass House, incorporating the latest in nanotechnology, challenges the future materials in housing.’
Architects:James
Muir, UTS
presented by: UTS Institue of Nano-technology, CSIRO
Dimensions: l: 7.2m; w: 7.2m
m-ch: micro compact home
‘four functioning spaces define the
interior of the m-ch: sleeping, working, cooking, and hygiene. The
double bed folds upwards when not in use. A dining and working table
provides space for up to five people; it may be slid aside for storage
access or stowed away completely in the shelof zone. The kithcen bar
has twin levels to serve both the table and the bed spaces. The entrance
lobby also functions as a bathroom'.
Architects: Richard Horden team with students and assistants of the Technical University in Munich. more...
Dimensions: 2.6m cube