07–11 / Exteriors & services
Exteriors & services
The fabric of the house and the services built into it — natural stone and timber outside, then the daylight, lighting, fittings, safety and climate provisions that make it work.
01 / The exterior
The exterior
- Ground floor external walls are finished in wire-brushed, polished key-bush hammered natural stone.
- Concrete window surrounds, plastered and painted in brown.
- Upper floor walls are plastered and painted.
- Entrance column bases are clad with Mazeras.
- T&G prime grade cypress timber boards for the roof eave soffits.
02 / Natural lighting
Natural lighting
Nature is the best — it gives a warm and welcoming mood.
“The building employs large window openings to facilitate naturally well-lit interior spaces throughout the day.”
03 / Openings
Openings
A window height of about 1200mm casts daylight roughly 2400mm into the rooms behind it.
04 / Spatial organisation
Spatial organisation
The open layout of the lounge, dining and kitchen keeps interior shadowing to a minimum — there are no partitions in the way to darken the plan, so the spaces are naturally lit through the day.
The not-so-deep rooms also ensure natural lighting.
05 / Lounge, dining & foyer
Lounge, dining & foyer
Lounge & dining
- Chandelier
- Recessed downlighters
- Wall brackets
Entrance foyer
- Pendant, used for task lighting
Passageways
- Recessed downlighters
- Chandelier
06 / Washrooms & bedrooms
Washrooms & bedrooms
Lighting
- Wall brackets
- Circular ceiling downlighters
- Recessed downlights
- Ceiling pendants
07 / Study, staircase & passageways
Study, staircase & passageways
Lighting
- Circular ceiling downlighters
- Recessed downlights
- Ceiling pendants
08 / Closets & sanitaryware
Closets & sanitaryware
Closets
- Polished Mahogany T&G boards with timber framing, to match the flooring
Fittings
- Ceramic water closets with plastic seats
- Ceramic wash hand basins
09 / Fire safety
Fire safety
- All windows have a provision for an operable burglar grid.
- A number of external doors give alternative exit routes in the event of a fire.
- All openings have P.V, including the eaves.
- A fire alarm is installed to raise an alarm when the smoke detectors detect fire.
10 / Security
Security
- Burglar proofing grids on the windows.
- Electric fence to the perimeter.
- CCTV surveillance.
- Perimeter wall and a watchman.
- Flood light that lights up whenever it senses an object 30m from the building.
11 / Climate control
Climate control
Minimum heat gain during the day, achieved by the envelope rather than by mechanical cooling.
- Large overhanging eaves of about 1.2m shade the glazed areas and reduce heat gain.
- Large thermal mass masonry walls, 200mm thick minimum, with a thermal lag time of about 6 hours.