4 Highly Sustainable Australian Mountain Homes

Australia isn't known for its alpine homes, but these projects might just put it on the map

Brodie Norris 15 August 2015

Houzz Australia Contributor. Editor of Lunchbox Architect, a blog that delivers an inspiring (affordable) architecturally designed home or renovation every weekday — just in time for your lunch break.

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Not since the Snowy Mountains Scheme, the largest engineering project ever undertaken in Australia, have we seen such an incredible building revolution in Australia’s alpine areas. The scheme was primarily about providing a stable source of water to southern NSW and northern Victoria, but it also included hydro-power generation and created new jobs and opportunities in these alpine areas. Thanks to improvements to this infrastructure, Australia’s modern mountain homes have developed into innovative, sustainable and stylish designs.

james stockwell architect

1. Kalkite house by James Stockwell Architects

Nestled into Kalkite Mountain, this modern rustic house appears to hug the landscape of the Snowy Mountains, as if it’s been chiseled from the land itself. Inside, the warmth of timber makes the home feel cosy, no-matter what the mercury says outside.

“We wanted to demonstrate that you don’t need a big budget to achieve inspiring design. With clever design solutions, you can prove that it’s not what it is made of, but rather how it’s assembled,” says architect James Stockwell.

james stockwell architect

While concrete floors might seem like a cold surface for an alpine climate, the home is flooded with natural northern sunlight, packed with high insulation and heated by a hydronic wood-burning fireplace that heats water pipes in the floor. This system offers incredible thermal mass to ensure the home stays toasty warm through winter. The use of raw, humble materials like plywood, corrugated iron and exposed concrete keeps costs down and connects the home to its rough mountain environment.

james stockwell architect

The parabolic (curved) shape of the home doesn’t just look impressive, but also helps to protect the home from the uplift caused by strong gusts of wind. The use of corrugated iron to create this curved form is inspired by mountain huts and post-war Nissen huts, creating a low-cost but inherently strong structure. The curved structure also helps to shed snow and collect rainwater, making it perfect for isolated, off-grid living.

It’s a lesson in alpine sustainability. The home requires zero external maintenance, such as paint, and uses no external energy input. The hydronic wood-fired hot water and space heating is coupled with a solar PV system creating an autonomous system. Waste is treated on site and water is supplied by rain only.

Lance Workshop Architecture & Design

2. Lake Crackenback lodge by Lance Workshop Architecture & Design

Creating ‘wow factor’ was the biggest driving force in designing this stylish new ski lodge in Lake Crackenback, NSW. “We wanted this house to be bold and dynamic. It had to do justice to its spectacular location but also complement the neighbouring house, which we built the previous year. It had to look like an alpine house – not a farm house or a beach house,” says architect Henry Lance. The contemporary home brings a touch of luxury to the Snowy Mountains with a statement roofline (again, parabolic for added strength), the use of natural stone and timber, plus incredible Japanese sauna-style bathrooms to relax in after an active day on the slopes.

When designing an alpine home, the greatest challenge is the climate, says Lance: “Compared to a temperate location, extra care must be taken to design and build a house that will be comfortable to live in, without a massive heating and electricity bill. There is also snow-loading and those 150km/hr winds to contend with!”

Lance Workshop Architecture & Design

In a cold alpine environment, it’s essential to get the heating right while respecting the environment around it. There are many features that make this house sustainable: “This house has excellent orientation and solar design, high levels of insulation all-round, minimal thermal bridges, double glazed windows and rainwater collection,” says Lance.

Of course, there’s an open fireplace to gather around in the evenings, but like the Kalkite house, this home features polished concrete floors that are warmed by in-slab hydronic heating. Slab heating is the most comfortable form of heating and avoids the dry skin and chapped lips that forced air systems can cause. Plus, it’s hard to argue with the streamlined look achieved by opting out of radiators, ducts or air-conditioning units.

Lance Workshop Architecture & Design

The bathroom features a fabulous cast concrete Japanese-style hot tub. Imagine slipping into a hot bath and soothing your tired limbs after a full day carving up the slopes.

Benn & Penna Architecture

Southern Highlands House by Benn & Penna Architects

This highland home looks like an elongated water tank! It embraces the agricultural style that is so prevalent in this mountainous location and is another alpine example of Colorbond cladding. The material is low maintenance, easy to insulate and strong, making it a good choice for these extreme locations. Plus, it’s a good bushfire-resistant material choice.

Benn & Penna Architecture

This compact workspace is part of a larger cluster of buildings, intentionally designed to separate the functions of living, working and sleeping to create a connection with nature.

Benn & Penna Architecture

The workspace sits on a honed and polished concrete slab, which is designed using passive solar design principles to absorb the sun’s energy to keep the space warm. A small fireplace is a carbon-friendly way to supplement the sun and heat up the concrete. Due to its thoughtful design and modest size, this little workspace is warm and comfortable regardless of the weather outside.

Habitech Systems

Alpine House by Habitech Systems

This prefabricated alpine house takes in stunning views of Mount Buller, Victoria. It’s designed to hug the contours of the hill, to create a sunny and protected north courtyard.

Habitech Systems

The building maximises passive solar design by framing and controlling southern views to minimise heat loss, while raking the ceiling to the north to let the sun deep into the building. Polished concrete floors and a stone fireplace absorb all this energy to keep the home warm during the day and overnight when temperatures plunge.

Habitech Systems

The home is completely self-sufficient as it is too isolated to be connected to services. “The house is autonomous in its supply of energy and water, producing its own electricity from a PV solar array, burning silvicultural thinnings from the property for heating, capturing rainwater for all water uses, and treating and disposing of wastewater on the site,” says architect Vonne Yang.

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