A Carbon-Neutral Concrete House Is an Exemplary Infill in Western Australia
"The brief was to take a 175-square-meter block under Perth’s single bedroom dwelling code and make an affordable and sustainable home," describe the architects at Whispering Smith, a feminist architecture firm based in South Fremantle, a suburb of Perth.
The resulting 753-square-foot home, called House A, combines concrete and reclaimed brick with strategic tile and wood accents to fashion a carbon-neutral home that maximizes its small lot.
Soft gray concrete, a polycarbonate screen, and metal roof bedeck the simple front facade of House A. Not immediately apparent? An underground water collection tank and solar panels. "We used a really high recycled content mix for our tilt-up concrete walls, which have 65-percent slag [a byproduct of steel production] instead of high-carbon emitting Portland cement," say the architects.
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A detail of the ensuite bathroom. "House A embodies our desire to build something relevant for our generation," say the architects. "A lot of younger people and downsizers don't have a lot of stuff or are having children much later, and we are using our homes for all kinds of things, from starting businesses or hosting a long table dinner for 20. We wanted to build a prototype house that did all of these things, while being affordable, sustainable and made from really beautiful, long lasting materials."
Construction: Talo Construction
Landscaping: M&B Johnston Building and Landscapes
Custom steel windows: Designed by Whispering Smith and made by Wilding Welding
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