Co-sponsored by the Future Housing Task Force and LJ Hooker, the Grantham Flood Home Design Competition sought 12 new designs, with the criteria of being both affordable and appropriate in flood-prone areas.
The winning concept, by Dion Seminara Architecture of Brisbane, is designed to be built offsite, in a controlled environment. The two finished halves are then transported to the location connected along their axis.
Offsite construction, popular in Europe, allows greater control over build processes and costs and is readily adaptable to mass production.
According to Architect Dion Seminara, "One of the main aims of the design was to provide for an easy clean up after the flood with a flexible multipurpose use of the ground level for vehicles or storage. The concept home has a flood clearance level of 4.5 metres to the first floor.
"This zone features materials and finishes which can be hosed down without damage. The design itself allows the water to flow through the building without placing pressure on the structure.
"The concept home is built on posts making it suitable for any sloping site and has the flexibility to be expanded through interlocking pavilion extensions.
"The environmentally friendly design features lightweight building materials, primarily timber, and the concept home suits both urban and bush environments.
"Using timber allows the building to be lightweight and environmentally friendly. The finished building will store carbon in the timber and also avoid greenhouse gas emissions that using materials with more embodied energy would have generated. Sustainably sourced timber is natural, renewable and the obvious choice for a design like this."
The competition entry criteria, which required each submission to:
- Successfully integrate flood resistant, energy efficient and sustainable design.
- Meet or provide a well-substantiated challenge to requirements set by the Building Code of Australia along with local and statutory authorities.
- Provide three bedrooms and not exceed 220 square metres in size.
- Provide undercover accommodation for two cars.
- Be able to be constructed on a site with up to a 1:4 slope.
- Be built from 80% lightweight materials.
- Have a construction budget not exceeding $200,000, excluding consultants and authorities fees and permits, site preparation costs, service connections, site allowances, landscaping works and contingency.
The winning design will be built as a demonstration project, we'll endeavour to bring you news of the finished structure.
More information: http://www.dsarchitecture.com.au/