This home shows that a light filled, incredibly energy efficient family home can be achieved on a small, narrow, north-facing block, with a modest budget.

A home for a family of four (a couple and two teenage boys) with a guest bed and two work-from-home spaces, with a small floor-area footprint. Sustainability and energy efficiency were a high priority. No active cooling and minimal active heating was the target.

This was a new, free-standing family home in a newly developed suburb with 150 square metres of floor space plus carport. The block itself is narrow and north-facing, occupying 405 square metres of land. It has four bedrooms (one of which doubles as a spare bedroom and study), two living spaces, and two bathrooms. It is constructed very much on ‘solar passive’ principles, with northern light flooding through the large front living area and heating the exposed concrete floor at winter solstice, with minimal sunstrike on windows and floors at summer solstice.

Tailored to the tricky block to maximise solar passive gain over winter and ensure adequate shading over summer. Computer simulations used to optimise the size and position of windows and shading devices specifically for this block, climate and design.