The King Of The Eco Castle

Location:	South of Hobart, Tasmania
Country:	Australia
Designer:	Mike Cleaver, Clever Design
Products Used:	COLORBOND® steel
Awards:	Building Designers Association - BDAA Environmentally Sustainable and Energy Efficient Design Award

Situated on the fringe of Tasmania's famous southern forests just south of Hobart, Mike Cleaver's national award winning Eco Castle is an eco-friendly contemporary family home that sets the trend for environmentally integrated residencies and utilises COLORBOND® steel throughout.

The modern four bedroom family home has just been awarded this year's BDAA Environmentally Sustainable and Energy Efficient Design Award, for its eco-friendly and innovative design features.

The client brief was for a home that was self sustainable and with a great aesthetic that complemented the natural bush setting. Fundamental to the brief was a minimum five star rating.

Principle designer, Mike Cleaver from Clever Design, is a specialist in designing unique and sustainable residential housing, with over 15 year's experience.

Mike explains: "The design achieves a holistic approach to all aspects of the development and blends totally with the surrounding environment. This design fits completely with my client's philosophy to have no ‘running costs' and minimal maintenance or water and power in or out of the site. As a result, the property boasts a stand alone solar powered system, a series of water tanks to harvest rainwater, a self composting toilet for managing waste on site and a central free standing wood heater/cooker for use in the winter months to help maintain efficient low usage of self generated power."

The design promotes the natural admission of light and air through the analysis of sun angles, selected roof pitches, skylights and cross ventilation resulting in a spacious, light filled, energy efficient and thermally comfortable home.

LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB® roofing in Monument™ adorns the exterior, the spring curved application diminishing with the fall of the land. LYSAGHT MINI ORB® cladding made from COLORBOND® steel in Conservatory® was used on the upper walls to create depth, texture and contemporary feel. This is complemented by half round guttering made from COLORBOND® steel in Monument™.

Mike's selection of low impact materials used in conjunction with articulated details and construction methods for this site with a difficult access, further demonstrates his commitment to sustainable and contemporary residential architectural designs.

"COLORBOND® steel is my first preference when designing a building not only because it is thermally efficient and recyclable but because its flexibility allows you to be more creative. For this project roofing made from COLORBOND® steel was just perfect because it enabled me to create a striking curved roof that equated to a modern look in a rural setting," said Mike.

The roofing not only provides a stylish way of finishing off the home's exterior but its durability also offers the property increased fire protection needed in a fire zone with high fire danger and exposure.

Mike adds: "This was one of the reasons why I used COLORBOND® steel throughout. It is non combustible and one of the best building materials I would use for protecting a home against harsh Australian conditions such as bushfires."


For further information please contact:
BUILDING DESIGNER
Clever Design
P: 03 6248 8283
E: mike@cleverdesign.com.au
W: www.cleverdesign.com.au

For information on LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB® and LYSAGHT MINI ORB® visit www.lysaght.com.