What is the shape of the house plan, hard to tell by the drawing. If it is a long rectangle, then have a traditional open gable roof. You could have each end glazed.

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Agree. Go with a traditional roof and add skylights if needed.

Thank you. It is a long rectangle. We need to have it north facing to maximise sun for solar panels.

I understand the orientation of the home from your drawings, And yes ideally the roof should be facing north for the best solar panel orientation. But…having a full roof facing east and west will still achieve a reasonable solar panel orientation. As long as there is no shading over the panels. You could also think of having the solar panels installed at ground level, away from the home, if you have the land available.

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Important note!!! If the elevation is showing correctly on your drawings, then, the roof is sloping the wrong direction for north facing solar panels.

Should be like this…….

Are you in Australia??????

Yes we are in Oz. In a hundred acre bush block.

Then either your elevation marked compass point are incorrect or the person who drew the concept of your home needs to adjust for north facing solar panels.

And why, if on 100 acres, can’t you have the LENGTH of the home facing north and south, along the land slope. At the moment the west and east are the longest part of your home, this is not good solar passive orientation. By turning the house 90degrees, you can have a gable roof line filled with solar panels facing north.

No the house is running the length north-south. The roof faces south to maximise natural light through the clerestory windows with the panels on brackets to face north.
The other option is to go for a skillion roof so that we don’t need box gutters.
I just wanted to see if there were any other options as we would need sky lights to help achieve a similar effect.

Do you have views that you want to see from rooms on the east and west sides? Is that why the home is planned as narrow ends on the north and south?

Are you limited on the building envelope?. Can you share floor plan. Where r views?

Thanks for all your help. We have 360 views. It’s in the middle of a forest so limited by terrain and envelope.

This is the plan

Nor like this? Less modern more country.

Hi Pauline, thank you for giving more context with your build and especially the floor plan. The slope and north compass point are a bother to get your perfect home with lots of light and the ability to have a roof full of north facing solar panels. The original elevation plan would meet your requirements, but as builders now have told you, not the best in a practical building sense.

Another thought, you could have the plan as drawn, with verandahs etc, but RAISE the roof line with a normal hip roof, BUT, with clerestory windows installed above the verandah height around the perimeter of the home. This will then add light to every room and allow for installation of solar panels across the entire roof, without the need for skylights.. The internal doors could also have transom windows above them, to transfer light from perimeter rooms to internal spaces.. hope this helps. All the best with your exciting build.

Thank you for your help. I’ll look into this idea

Skylights particular in central hall

Box gutters on well treed land would be an ongoing nightmare. Glad you’re seeking design advice. Easy and cheap to get ideas whilst it’s still on paper. I like the clerestory window idea. I don’t think you’d need them in the bedrooms. And I know you don’t ask but you have a lot of unused square footage in your hall.

Agree. We weren’t sure how to modify the hall … 4 architects later and we are still at a loss. It’s been a nightmare 2.5 years and $20000 to get this far. Never again

There are some very talented non professional but experienced in life people on here that will help with plan recommendations if you ask. Start another thread and answer some questions and you’ll get some great ideas.

Can you provide your actual building envelope on your land.
R land.

It’s roughly 20m x 20 m

South facing deck if covered will make the rooms inside dark. You want to enjoy some sunshine. Widest deck for shade should be west, then north for sitting, unless winds and rain change things.

Gosh. Thanks for your help everyone. I wish I had put some plans up 2 years ago instead of paying so much money and not getting this detail. 🤦🏻‍♀️

If it helps a little Pauline, that’s a common experience. Every architect Ive met has been a lovely person but not great at designing to specific real life situations. If you let the posters here, especially OKL know what you like or don’t about the drafts you’ll get some more ideas.

Yes it is quite a unique block which our ‘designers’ struggled with.
The main view is south facing hence the wider deck. It gets really hot here so this will be a haven.
We put the clerestory’s in to try to access more natural light however our building codes here have strict regulations on window to floor ratio for thermal capacity. We also have bushfire codes to abide by.
The next best view is the east hence main bedroom and extra seating on verandah.
Just the two of us so we made the guest bedrooms smaller ??

Completely off grid with

Oklouise internal plan is what should be given to you by professionals, not the basic plan you have received.
I have noted your desired orientation on oklouise plan. From your plans, am I correct to assume, by the slope of land, that the north of the land is not being utilised for any main use of land or view?

Yes that’s correct

thanks dreamer..finally think i understand the correct orientation so another variation to consider...inside rooms about 150sqm plus balconies and alfresco (total site area about 20m x 14m) with gable roof towards south and north facing hip roof allows about 50sqm of north facing roof for solar panels with extra undercover space for solar battery, water pump. AC and water heater ...raked ceilings over alfresco, balconies, kitchen, dining and living area with flat ceilings in the rest of the house for easier insulation and use smaller sliding glass doors and louvre windows for better ventilation, open mesh shelves in storage and wardrobes to minimise dampness and mould in tropics and add adjustable sarlon shade cloth blinds and/or external rollwer shutters for extra sunshade and fire protection

Great good cross ventilation. No wasted space.