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precedent studies
precedent studies The Walsh House | Glenn Murcutt | 2005
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The Walsh House
The Walsh house is located on Wattamolla Rd, Kangaroo Valley in New South Wales. The building sits in the middle of the property and stands at 100m above sea level. The area is predominantly of valleys and grasslands; overviewing the Wedding cake mountain to the north side and the old volcanic peaks on the east. The climate is temperate, and ranges between the average of 26 degrees during summertime, and 23 degrees in winter.
Apart from the brick underlays (a flipped brick veneer wall configuration) and the proud steel structures, the house is mostly consisted of lightweight materials with a mix of timber cladding and glazing (opaque and clear glazing). The main façade, which is populated by sections of glass, faces a few degrees off true north; exposed to direct sun light especially during summer. The house features extruding sections that are also glazed (used as sitting and study nooks) that has adjustable louvres/blinds that allows regulation of sun light from within. The wide-spanned skillion roof acts as both a shield to direct solar access (to slow down heat gain from coming in), and as a wide water catchment; As the area receives approximately 1,500mm of rainfall per year. The rain water is then directed and stored to six, 2.5m diameter rain water tanks on the southern side of the house.
The southern face is mostly populated with large grated vents, which are exit points for internal heat, with a few windows mostly in the kitchen area. The programs within the house is organised in a linear manner, with a series of connected paces arranged in a back-to-back horizontal fashion. The garage is located on the west side of the house followed by rooms that are accessible from the south. The rooms connect to the living areas (kitchen and dining) where the fire place is situated (keeping the house warm during winter, with the inclusion of sub-floor heating) and through the eastern veranda where the shallow pond is located.
the walsh house | overall diagram.
