The courtyard house design comprises of a central kitchen hub framed by two independent living spaces, resulting in four bedroom passive solar house.  The architectural layout consists of 3,947 gross square feet and 1,220 square feet of sun drenched outdoor living area.  The architectural design is constituted with a south facing light filled interior living space which is connected to the outdoor alfresco and terrace via 8’ high end sliding doors.

central courtyard

The central courtyard in the heart of the home with its highlight louver windows separates the two juxtaposed living spaces.  The fenestration generates an ever changing play of light in the courtyard house design throughout the day.  Raking ceilings of the architectural layout satisfy passive solar design when sited corrected.  Passive solar principles with each living space having the potential for solar heat gain during the cooler winter months. 

The courtyard house design green building credentials incorporate natural materials and locally sourced hardwood timbers. The solar hot water utilizes a wood fuel firebox for wood fuel boosting.  The spatial relationships usher visitors into the open plan living areas with a 4 foot by 8 foot high timber pivot door. 

kitchen hub

The kitchen hub connects the two generous open plan living areas for transformation into indoor outdoor living for full exposure to the southern aspect.  The architect designed kitchen hub specifies porcelain panel to the water fall edged kitchen island bench and kitchen perimeter benchtops. The material palette includes color backed glass backsplash and Blum Adventos lift overhead cupboards cantilevered above the benchtop slot window.

The courtyard house design provides pragmatic importance on reduced energy consumption and embodied energy with highlight louver windows to maximize natural daylight and vent stale hot air through ‘stack effect‘ ventilation.  The courtyard house design material palette also includes clear anodized window frames, hardwood internal timber flooring and  James Hardie Scyon Linea weatherboard and horizontally formatted or vertically grooved Scyon wall cladding for a higher fire rating.