2021 – BDAA National Design Awards

The home has been arranged over three levels meld into the sloping site. Upon entry at the mid-level, the home connects immediately with the rear terrace and swimming pool, which has been located to ensure it does not detract from the prime northern outlook to the tree canopy, yet is still well connected to the adjacent living spaces. The master bedroom sits at this level and enjoys morning sun and overlooks the pool.
The open plan family, dining and kitchen is the focal point in the design and has been placed at the upper level and arranged so that the entire space accesses northern sunlight, with the view to the tree canopy showcased by 3.3m high glazing which also connects with a large deck.

The home adopts passive solar design features to achieve an 8.5 star energy efficiency rating. A central volume takes full advantage of the north orientation and thermal mass creating a comfortable internal temperature year-round. Transparency and openness allow for abundant natural light to permeate internal spaces.

The intent of the interior design is a contemporary interpretation of mid-century residential style and has been executed beautifully with the use of walnut timber battens wrapped around a curved organic form.

To achieve this took multiple revisions to the energy rating through the NatHERS software and a communicative collaboration between the energy assessor and designer.

Structural items were redesigned to accommodate more insulation, ceiling heights were amended and the focus shifted to increasing the thermal efficiency of the building as a priority while maintaining the aesthetic and overall concept of the home for the client.

Little Albion is the perfect blend between an emerging sustainable designer in Kyle Stacey of Stack Design and an energy assessor focused on thermal improvement and client engagement in James Cross of Northern Aspect Energy Consultants. The back-and-forth process was smooth and always involved open dialogue and Kyle is a pleasure to work with. The process of taking a house that was 5.3 stars on an existing narrow lot and creating a 7.4-star final design was not easy but with 2 minds bringing ideas to the table we managed to complete the process after months of preliminary design work.

Arman Gouniaei, has over ten years of experience working internationally as a building and interior designer. He has worked with some of Australia’s largest developers and has an established reputation working on projects from conception to construction. He is bold, creative and innovative and brings his unique vision and passion to every project. He works closely with his clients to ensure their vision comes to life. Arman’s comprehensive knowledge combined with industry-related tertiary qualifications in architectural design is instrumental in understanding and meeting the individual needs of each client.

The brief for a house with curves is satisfied with a curved plan, circular rooms, spiral stair to a circular star gazing turret, curved internal walls and a sine curve ceiling. The garden front sweeps around the ridge contours to take in the views to the Baw-Baw ranges. A veranda canopy spirals round this façade, increasing in width towards the east to maintain correct shading to the windows and rises to become the rotunda roof over the circular master bedroom at the east end.

A collaborative design approach was utilised, working closely with the builder and thermal assessor throughout the design phase to ensure that the layout of the home itself achieved optimal performance. Materials were then incorporated which would enhance the star rating and thermal comfort of the home, again working closely with the builder and thermal assessor throughout this process to accurately measure the effect on the star rating. Through this process of trial & error a 10 Star NatHERS rating was obtained, the highest possible thermal performance rating.