Linear thinking
Brisbane architect and stone mason Pete McFarlane has pushed the boundaries with a spectacular new dwelling in an inner city suburb. Drawing its inspiration from Australia’s long, airy verandahs, the elongated linear house he designed specifically suits a sub-tropical climate.
“I’m a great fan of the linear space architecture pioneered by the likes of Glenn Murcutt and Brian Wyatt,” says McFarlane. “Linear buildings perform so much better than fat plan structures climatically because they give equal space for light, insulation and spatial movement. Linear design also gives a speed and exhilaration of form and it’s physically economical because it allows you to move through the building in straight lines.”
Built on a sloping site, the McFarlane house features four distinct levels within the structure, providing a total of 440sq m of living space. The interior of the house features highly polished Tasmanian oak floors and high raked ceilings of Lysaght Custom Orb. Interior glass concertina doors can be drawn across the 4.8m floor to divide the huge open living space into three separate compartments.
The exterior is clad in Lysaght Custom Orb made from metallic Colorbond steel in Façade from BlueScopeSteel . McFarlane says its use gives the building a futuristic look because of the way its response to light produces different colours and tones. “When combined with a corrugated profile like Lysaght Custom Orb and installed horizontally, the metallic Colorbond steel emphasises the striation effect of light reflected from the skyline in the upper section of the corrugations, contrasted against the groundline light reflected in the lower surface of the corrugations,” he says. “It also accentuates the distinctive tonal changes occurring along the length of this elongated structure. The matching flashings and mouldings subtly frame these horizontal panels. The material captures and then releases a special light and it changes by the moment.”
Flat polycarbonate angled wing type awnings run down both sides of the house at each level and are designed to let through about 20 percent sunlight. This forms a shadow line effect under the awnings, creating further tonal variations that play across the façade as well. “There is nothing abstract or super funky about the exterior,” says McFarlane. “It just uses this extraordinary metallic looking material well. Normal Colorbond steel is a very good material but the metallic paint adds a whole new dimension.”
Source: Building Products News.
24-Feb-2004