Okuti Valley Renovation

Project Description

This Okuti Valley renovation extended and redesigned a family home. The centre of the house is cosy and contained, with a sense of history in it's materials; such as the patina of the original brick fire-surround and the rusty steel beams. As you move away from the centre, the house opens to it's environment, through the use of soaring roof-lines with glass and galvanised steel. The glass canopy extends the living area to the outside. It harnesses solar gain in the winter and protects from overheating in the summer. The canopy is an example of the use of commercial construction techniques for ease of assembly in this rural setting. Other examples of this method of construction are bolt-together steel portals and the craned-in pre-stressed concrete deck and step panels. The building has wool insulation, rain water harvesting and under-floor heating from a large wetback and solar panels. The on-site grey water treatment utilises bark filled baskets and terraced reed beds and a series of interlinking ponds are used for sediment control and wild life preservation.