Queensland home uses steel to fight termites
A Brisbane architect has designed a striking all-steel home in the Glasshouse Mountains at Beerwah using an intriguing blend of Middle Eastern and Australian rural influences.
Ian Martin of Paradox Architecture designed the home with an all-steel structure, employing steel roof and wall cladding as a preventative measure against the threat of termite attack and bushfires in the rainforest area.
Large screens common in the Middle East wrap the home, filtering and deflecting the heat from the high summer sun, while allowing the winter sun to penetrate the internal spaces to optimise thermal efficiency and minimise energy usage.
"Our prime intention was to make the home as unattractive as possible to termites," said Martin. "We've attempted to address a number of other issues here, including the significant threat of bushfires".
The home's tall, box-like form was inspired by tobacco-drying sheds, common in the local rural area.
Exterior walls are clad in Lysaght Custom Orb corrugated steel made from Torres Blue COLORBOND prepainted steel, with Custom Orb clear finish corrugated roofing made from BHP Zincalume zinc/alloy-coated steel.
"These types of rural buildings were originally clad in fibrous cement, but Lysaght Custom Orb corrugated steel was an easy choice because it requires very low maintenance", Martin said.
The steel theme is carried into the interior spaces with Lysaght Mini Orb corrugated sheeting in Zincalume steel used as balustrades on the main internal stairway. "It's rather unusual to see screens used in this way. We have used them to cover 50% of the front façade," Martin said. "I felt that I could use the base strength of the steel to match the lighter, coloured large screens and have the two complement each other. As a result, the large screens almost appear to float there."
21-Nov-2000