About Bellbird House

This property is in the Bellbird Area of Blackburn, a classified National Trust area that has been protected against significant development since the 1960s. The Bellbird Area is a suburban bush setting. This family home needed to blend warmth and comfort and be responsive to and respectful of the natural beauty of its bush surroundings. In response, the project team created an efficient single level home that allowed the preservation of all 41 existing trees on site. Only one tree was removed due to poor health.

Working with Sam Cox Landscapes, the owners have planted over 1400 indigenous plants and installed a pond to encourage wildlife.

The wonderful tree canopies were a key driver for the design. External materials, such as black-oiled bandsawn Accoya, were selected to provide a contrasting backdrop to the grey-green of the eucalypts, while mirroring the trees with bark like vertical texture. Internal sightlines were dominated by trunks and neighbouring properties, so we gave preference to abundant north-facing highlight windows which direct views up and out to the treetops above, flooding the interiors with daylight.

A light, natural material palette internally starts with a central spine of Australian limestone cladding, which wraps from the external entry into the heart of the house. Centred around an open-plan kitchen, dining and living space which opens up to the landscape at the rear, the house is arranged to meet our clients brief for spaces to share with their children, and spaces of solitude for all their individual pursuits – music, reading, study.

Features

Bellbird House demonstrates how a memorable contemporary home can be created that actively preserves the natural habitat of the Bellbird Area by:

1. Prioritising the preservation of the trees on site, siting the home so all could be retained.
2. Regenerating the site’s bush character through planting over 1400 indigenous plants.
3. Providing a design response driven by its context: a single storey efficient plan with ceilings and forms that reach up to capture the views to the treetops. Bellbird House’s contemporary form and materiality is both striking and subtle.
4. Includes passive and active sustainable design as a priority. Bellbird House achieves a 7.1 star NatHERS rating. Passively, north-facing highlight windows flood the interiors with natural light and exhaust hot air out via a chimney effect. Considered sun-shading protects during summer while harnessing winter sun angles; vertical batten screens to west and east provide sun protection. Carefully placed smaller south and west windows facilitate cross-flow ventilation. All double glazing is high-performance thermally-broken aluminium. The home is packed with insulation batts, and is meticulously sealed. Cladding is sustainably-sourced oiled Accoya timber, with PEFC locally sourced, sustainably-managed Silver Top Ash highlights and natural limestone cladding from WA. Internally, PEFC Tasmanian Oak lines the ceilings and solid recycled timber features in main joinery pieces, celebrating beauty in re-use of a natural material. Thermal mass principles act via the limestone cladding and insulated concrete slab with hydronic heating to main living areas, while Australian made 100% wool carpet adds warmth. A car charger is situated in the garage.

We acknowledge the Wurrundjeri people, Traditional Custodians of the land upon which this project is sited.