Sustainable House Design | Mona Vale House | New South Wales | Australia | Choi Ropiha Fighera

Our response orients the house toward the view to the south, but opens up the roof at the centre of the house with a large north-facing skylight to admit winter sun to the south facing living areas and to trap and hold the warmth of the winter sun using the thermal mass of the structure.

Other sustainability measures include a 15,000 L rainwater storage tank combined with grey water recycling to minimise water usage, the use of evacuated tubes for in floor heating and hot water supply, and photovoltaic solar panels to provide electricity back to the grid........more

Courtyard House Design | Narrabeen House | North Narrabeen | New South Wales | Choi Ropiha Fighera

Extending on conventional courtyard house typologies, the design utilises an interlocking of interior and exterior spaces. It is through the central courtyard that the house is accessed, the courtyard also acts as the main organising element, around which the family living spaces are arranged. These spaces are private and interior, though thanks to the courtyard, they are also exposed to the outdoors. The architecture plays with the tension between these elements, the outdoor 'rooms' giving internal and external living spaces. This interior arrangement also plays against the strong directionality suggested by the site; at the rear of the house is a southward vista, looking over the Narrabeen Lagoon........more