Smart homeowners, architects and builders are moving away from brick. We take a look
at four different kinds of projects that vetoed brick for a more economical, eco-friendly and
altogether cooler style of build.
perth
rethinks
brick
introduction 66
bye bye brick … 70
the display home 70
the bespoke new home 72
the reno 74
the social home 76
trends to watch 78
bringing the outside in 78
reverse brick veneer 80
quick SIPs 81
Words Rachel Sullivan
bye
bye brick…
introduction
Smart homeowners, architects and builders are moving away from brick. We take a look
at four different kinds of projects that vetoed brick for a more economical, eco-friendly and
altogether cooler style of build.
bye bye brick…
In a hot, dry climate, do you really want to live in an airless oven that retains
the heat in summer and freezes up in winter? That’s the question many
Perth-based home owners and builders are starting to ask themselves.
P
erth stands alone in Australia when it comes to the
domination of brick construction with the city’s
residents long conditioned into thinking that brick
is better. This, combined with the engineering restrictions
inherent in brick construction, has resulted in a homogenous
– some might even say monotonous – streetscape, with little
variation in design, colour and form.
66
Yet Perth’s love affair with brick may be coming to an end.
Thanks to increasing concerns about sustainability and
shrinking lot sizes, home owners and builders alike are
starting to question the wisdom of brick. The drain on trades
from workers heading north for the mining boom and the
government’s mandate that all new homes have a 6 star energy
efficiency rating from mid-2012 have only added to the pressure.
67
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house or person name + location
introduction
“Western Australia is steeped in the tradition of residential brick construction,”
says Paul Lim, principal of design specialists Mata Design Studio.
“However with the need to be environmentally responsible, the change in the
energy efficiency regulations and the rise in the cost of labour, it seems to have
become merely an aesthetic market expectation.
“As the market becomes more educated and more sustainable products become
available that save time and money, we are naturally shifting to and accepting
these smarter ways of building.”
Lightweight construction is not only a more sustainable alternative, it helps bring
together energy efficiency, affordability and clever contemporary design to create
cooler, lighter, more liveable homes.
… we are
naturally
shifting to and
accepting these
smarter ways
of building.
“Perth has to be the last place in the world still relying totally on brick,” agrees
Raleigh Charpentier, sales and marketing manager at Gemmel Homes.
“Everywhere else you look, people are using lightweight. It is not only more
affordable, it doesn’t have the same time constraints as brick, which means at the
end of the day it provides a better product, faster.”
the sensible choice
Lightweight construction generally requires less cutting and filling than
double-brick construction, which makes it ideal for angular, sloping and
otherwise tricky sites. It is also particularly well suited to sites where access
and space is a problem: stacked cladding and other materials take up as little
as a quarter of the space of pallets of bricks intended to cover the same area.
And because lightweight construction can be done by carpenters, there is less
waste to manage and fewer trades battling for space and time on site.
That using lightweight construction helps create comfortable living spaces,
no matter the climate, is also forcing people to take note. Perth has just
experienced its hottest year in recorded history, plus the wettest spring in more
than a decade. With the climate predicted to only become more extreme and
unpredictable, and energy bills soaring, what we thought we could live with in
the past is no longer doing the job.
“Brick-and-tile construction creates giant heat sinks; they’re like old-fashioned
crock pots,” says Michael Roberts, co-director of Roberts Gardiner Architects.
“It’s been proven that better insulation ratings can be achieved from lightweight
construction than from heavy brickwork.
Paul Lim,
Mata Design
Studio
68
“As Perth moves towards 6 star energy efficiency ratings for all new homes,
achieving this is going to be easier and more efficient with lightweight.”
Lightweight is also getting builders to look beyond 6 stars, says Peter
Edwards, builder with NuLook Homes.“ With energy efficiency changes being
implemented, builders are having to explore new options, especially when it
comes to cavity insulation, and it’s here that lightweight’s merits come into
their own. It’s really shaken up the larger builders, and now the changes are
starting to flow through to the rest.”
But the transition is not only about energy efficiency. Design that stands out
from the crowd is easier to achieve with lightweight materials because of their
flexibility, allowing features like cantilevers and interesting roof lines to be
achieved without costly heavy engineering. As award-winning building designer
Jason Saunders from Arc-Seven.1 says: “Our clientele is very open, with most keen
to explore options. And for many of the builders we work with, as soon as we
mention lightweight they see the benefits and embrace it.
“We don’t do straightforward design forms, so using lightweight gives us design
flexibility and helps us explore boundaries and push them.”
Lightweight construction also has advantages when it comes to speed and
efficiency, and that translates into bottom line benefits, Saunders says. “Even
though we are not currently in the middle of a building boom, things are
blowing out and taking far too long. As an industry, we need to get construction
timeframes reduced and lightweight construction can make that happen.”
Brick and tile
construction
creates giant
heat sinks;
they’re like
old-fashioned
crock pots …
69
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house or person name + location
bye bye brick…
Smart homeowners, architects and builders are moving away from brick.
We take a look at four different kinds of projects that vetoed brick for a
more economical, eco-friendly and altogether cooler style of build.
the display home
When one builder couldn’t find a display home
to show clients the versatility of lightweight,
he recognised he needed to build his own.
“What started as a discussion about a renovation has evolved into a new display
home that showcases the high-end finish that can be achieved using lightweight
construction,” says award-winning builder Peter Edwards from NuLook Homes.
“Everything in this house, from the floor to the framework, the roof to the walls,
all use lightweight [materials].”
One of the big features of the home is the flow of materials from the exterior to
the interior, Edwards adds. “We have used Scyon™ Matrix™ cladding on the eaves,
then carried it inside the home as ceiling linings, using the cladding’s grid pattern
as an attractive alternative to plasterboard. Scyon™ Stria™ cladding feature panels
have been used on both the exterior and interior, again helping to create a flowing
connection between the indoors and outside.”
Brick and render have their limitations, he says, especially when it comes to
quality finishes. “But high-quality cladding products [like Matrix and Stria] are
ideally suited to interesting finishes, such as metallics, that combine to give
surfaces a smart, new dimension wherever they are in the home.”
While not yet completed, the display home has already recieved strong feedback
from people looking to embrace a new way of living.
70
Everything in
this house,
from the floor to
the framework,
the roof to the
walls, all use
lightweight
[materials].
nulookhomes.com.au
71
bye bye brick…
the bespoke
new home
In the upmarket Perth suburb of Claremont,
one new home is not only going lightweight,
it is using a transportable building to boot.
“This house is for a young family of four who have an open mind and gave us only
their basic requirements to work with,” says Paul Lim, principal of Mata Design
Studio and leader on the project. “The family wanted to limit the size of the house
in order to maximise their outdoor living space and garden.”
Due for completion in April 2012, it became apparent early in the design
process that an unusual solution was needed. The site is moderately sloped, Lim
explains, so rather than incurring large costs in site works, the team decided on
a prefabricated house that could sit on piers and thus allow most of the existing
site levels to be retained.
The house, which will be clad in Scyon™ Axon™, will also use HardieFlex™ sheet for
external soffits and Scyon™ Secura™ interior flooring and Villaboard® lining for wet
areas. It will be split into four modules and brought by two trucks to the site. It
will then be craned into place in a day, allowing the whole house to be completed
in less than three months from its April start date.
“There is so much potential for prefabricated design, particularly in the
residential sector,” says Lim, “and with the shorter construction times,
minimisation of material wastage and control over quality in the yard, it seemed
like an avenue to pursue.”
Lightweight construction lends itself to such structures with its speed, ease
of assembly and tolerance during transportation, he adds. “In terms of futureproofing, services are more accessible and capable of being modified or added in
a framed building than with some other building systems.
“This is a growing sector nationally and internationally that is making
considerable ground. We see WA as a state that will also embrace it, not only for
temporary accommodation, but for mid to high-specification housing as well.”
matadesign.com.au
72
73
bye bye brick…
… we wanted
to see how
hard we could
push it, and
have ended up
exceeding 7
stars across
the whole
building.
74
the reno
From character bungalow to energy-efficient icon,
this home now boasts 7-plus energy stars.
Making a contemporary addition blend seamlessly with an old-character home
can be a challenge. When it came to building a contemporary addition to his
family’s 1937 bungalow, designer Jason Saunders from Arc-Seven.1 was motivated
primarily by a desire to retain his home’s character while also creating an energyefficient space.
“Because of their lack of insulation, poor cross-ventilation and timber floors, a lot
of old houses don’t rate well when it comes to energy efficiency,” Saunders says.
“With the new addition, we wanted to see how hard we could push it, and have
ended up exceeding 7 stars across the whole building.”
The new addition is at the rear of the Saunders property and, when completed in
mid-2012, will be painted black to keep it from visually dominating the original
house. Designed as a flexible, contemporary space, it houses office and meeting
areas that can be converted to other uses.
On the ground floor, reverse-brick construction has been used, putting thermal
mass on the inside and lightweight Scyon™ Axon™ cladding on the outside, while
exposed concrete walls are a feature both inside and out.
“For the first floor, we wanted to create a structure that wasn’t imposing and
seemed to float over the site,” Saunders says. This was achieved, he explains, with
timber-framed construction and a 2.3 metre cantilever, where part of the building
projects – seemingly unsupported – into space.
“If we had wanted to do this in double brick, there would have been much
more structural work involved, but using lightweight construction substantially
reduced the cost and complexity of the build.”
The connection between old and new is enhanced by a glass box linking the two
worlds, while the link between the two spaces is enhanced by Axon™ cladding that
flows from the exterior to the dining room.
“We really wanted to create a contemporary design that blends with the existing
forms,” Saunders says. “Using the cladding in this way has definitely helped.”
arc-seven1.com.au
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bye bye brick…
the social home
Time savings of 50% and a system that called for
just one skilled tradesman – this project went above
and beyond the brief.
As part of Western Australia’s new affordable housing strategy, the WA
Department of Housing develops affordable housing for low and moderateincome families. After running pilots to determine which construction systems
gave the best results, the Department found lightweight a strong contender.
Quikloc modular panels have been trialled with great success, according to Summit
Homes general manager Brett Garrett, who was involved in projects at four sites.
In Girraween, a three-unit and four-unit development was built using the system,
while in Bertram, Quikloc was used to construct two eight-unit developments.
“The government wanted to look at alternative building products to understand
their benefits and see if they would be viable going forward,” Garrett explains.
“[Architect] Bruce Robinson and James Hardie® approached the Department and
proposed the Quikloc system, which is very quick and easy to install and offers
high insulation values.”
Offering a substantial time saving of up to 50% over standard construction
methods, the Quikloc system can be used to build both single and double-storey
homes. Using a panel installed into a bottom track, fillets inserted between each
panel lock them together while a plate on top fixes the roof into position.
In the trials, the houses were clad in Matrix™ cladding and Scyon™ Linea™
weatherboard to create a distinctive, contemporary feel. Quikloc then boosted
the homes’ insulation values to create a comfortable internal environment year
round, while reducing running costs and adding to long-term affordability.
“The advantage of the system is you only need one skilled person and two
unskilled people,” says architect Bruce Robinson. “You can actually stand the
walls of a single-storey home in two days. You start on Monday and can have the
roof on by Friday. The insulation factor of the Quikloc panel by itself is already
about 2.2 as an index, but you add James Hardie® products and it goes to 2.8.”
Garrett believes the system’s potential extends beyond social housing. “Because
of the speed and limited number of trades used in their construction, as well as
their insulation values, we are starting to see increasing interest in remote regions
and in mining areas, which we expect to pick up as more people find out about
the system’s benefits.”
summithomesgroup.com.au
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trends to watch
The rise of reverse brick veneer, the efficiency of SIPs and the move toward
bringing the outside in – we examine three projects picking up on the hottest
building trends.
rooms to using exterior materials on the inside, this trend may have started as a
quirky idea but it is rapidly gaining pace.
Jason Saunders, director of building designers Arc-Seven.1, won the 2011 Building
Designers Australia WA Alterations & Additions $200,000-plus category for an
outdoor room he designed in Applecross, Perth.
bringing the
outside in
Is it a garden? A room? A garden room?
Clever designers are reinventing the way
we look at internal and external space.
We’ve always loved our backyards in Australia, but the garden is increasingly
becoming an extension of the home, with clever design blurring the line between
indoor and outdoor living. From creating liveable alfresco spaces that feel like real
78
As well as creating a connection with nature and making the most of the
outdoor space, “the owners wanted to introduce some colour to the house,
which was a bland eight-year-old double-brick and tile construction,” says
Saunders. “It was a restricted site, so we needed to find something that allowed
us to create the form that we wanted, without the time frames and other issues
associated with using brick.”
The team opted for Matrix™ cladding, with its high quality panel finish that can be
used both internally and externally.
“The whole design is based on squares, and Matrix [cladding] allowed that square
form to be accentuated in an easy way. If we had had to use brick to do this, it
would have been much more complicated.”
The horizontal linework also draws the eye out further and increases the scaling
of the design, Saunders says, while adding to the casual ambience of the informal
entertaining and living space. “We wanted to design something that would create
character without making it too difficult, and Matrix [cladding] was key to that.”
If we had had
to use brick
to do this,
it would
have been
much more
complicated.
arc-seven1.com.au
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trends to watch
reverse
brick
veneer
Bricks on the inside, cladding on the outside,
better temperatures and stand-out style:
that’s the philosophy behind the rise and rise
of reverse brick veneer.
With 24,000 people on the social housing waiting
list in Perth, the Department of Housing is trialling
alternative construction methods designed to get
people into their new homes faster.
Reverse brick veneer is essentially the practice of improving a home’s thermal
performance and comfort by placing the thermal mass (bricks) on the inside,
with a layer of insulation between the bricks and the cladding.
Prefabricated Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) use an insulating layer of polystyrene
foam, sandwiched between two layers of structural board, to provide maximum
thermal efficiency at a cost-effective price. Their strength not only eliminates the
need for a frame, but allows them to be used as walls, flooring and roofing.
It is also the thinking behind some of the hottest new building projects, including
the luxury resort-style Alpine home, a wow-factor masterpiece that owes much of
its success to reverse brick veneer.
“The house uses reverse brick veneer clad with Linea weatherboard, accentuated
with stonework and a Colourbond skillion roof,” says Raleigh Charpentier, sales
and marketing manager at Gemmell Homes. “Reverse brick veneer really lets
you think outside the box, by combining different materials and methods while
building cost-effective, stylish and elegant homes.
“The lightweight Linea weatherboard cladding also provides a sharp finish that
frames and accentuates the house’s clean lines. We’ve also used stonework on lots
of different aspects; together, these features take design in Perth to a new level,”
he continues, adding that the feedback has been “awesome”.
gemmillhomes.com.au
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“Everyone who sees it loves its lines and the fact that it is not the stock standard
‘box’ from project builders.”
quick
SIPs
As part of a pilot project investigating the potential of SIPs as a faster, more
energy-efficient alternative to traditional construction, Michael Roberts, codirector of Roberts Gardiner Architects, recently designed the Bates Road Inaloo
project, a series of three two-storey family units.
To create the striking two-storey designs, Roberts used a combination of Matrix™
cladding and PrimeLine® weatherboard, cutting the usual construction times in half.
“Because it was so quick and easy to build and used few trades, we saved between
16 and 20 weeks,” says Roberts. “This results not only in cost savings, but means it
is quicker to get people off social housing waiting lists.”
While this was a pilot for the Perth metro area, SIPs are ideally suited for regional
and remote areas because of their speed of construction and high levels of
insulation, Roberts adds. “They can be prefabricated in a factory, trucked in and
erected quickly, without the need for wet trades like brickies.”
rgarchitects.com.au
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