C- House, 2011, Curl Curl, NSW.
C-House is a prototype design for a courtyard house for five - a house that sustains and provides for its inhabitants. The house assumes more of us will work where we live, leave home later in life and have less land available. The C-house can extend to its own boundaries maximizing the quality of its spaces without impact on its neighbours. The house design would aim to be independent from reticulated power and water. The house design and its controls and principles can create a cohesive community of north facing courtyard houses all adhering to a simple set of rules.
Development controls to achieve a grouping of courtyard houses would include zero setbacks to the rear and sides, a 2-storey height limit to the front and 1-story height limit to rear of the site.
The C- House proposes linked Living/Dining/Kitchen opening to the North facing courtyard, ground floor bedrooms open to gardens, The main bedroom overlooks the street and courtyard. The home office relationship is to the street it has its own entry and potential connection to room above understanding that working from home as an increasing norm as is multi generational living.
The Sustainable Measures include a central North facing courtyard as the principal open space and aspect of all main rooms. A front garden provides native habitat to the street frontage the rear garden is envisaged as a productive kitchen garden. The house captures its own water – all roofs fall inward to a bank of rainwater tanks.
Construction includes elements of lightweight and masonry walls depending on orientation and function Concrete ground floor with solar hydronic heating, high performance glazing to timber sliding courtyard walls, deep vertical shading elements to East and West facades North facing roofs for PV Power and Solar Hot Water. All rooms cross-ventilate, gardens are manageably scaled and directly linked to the spaces they serve.
