Mad House

Mad House

We wanted to build a sustainable home that reduced financial liabilities and was able to be operated efficiently, according to the way we live. The Mad House is inspired by off-grid and communal living and was built with ethics and economic feasibility in mind.

With these balanced values we tailored our build to suit not just our situation but also what we felt to be the community’s situation. For instance, when on scheme water we concluded that it is not beneficial for the environment and financially to harvest personal rainwater, use grey water or plan to have battery systems, as these would be better suited communally.

Our favourite part of the house is the interaction with the garden and home, this was design using permaculture practices. Recreation, study, security, food harvesting and native viewing are designed to be accessible and integrate with the living area. Our Grandad built the original fibro house on the block and my mum was born here, it was only by coincidence that we bought the house back into the family. We were able to repurpose and incorporate materials from the old house into the build, the decking area is built using the old jarrah framing, feature jarrah floorboard walls and an internal brick wall showcasing a brick etched with the words from an unknown author ‘I am mad’.

• Solar passive
• Used most economical (cheapest) style of build
• Gable with low ceilings (raked in living area and high ceiling in hall)
• Small footprint
• Reused materials (jarrah floorboards and timber frame, chimney bricks)
• Convection ventilation pantry and fridge
• Cross-ventilation for cool SW breeze in summer
• Low embodied energy materials – timber frame, Weathertex cladding
• Some clay paint (no VOC)
• Recessed pelmets
• Various glazing types: double glaze, low-e, dark, neutral and clear tones.

Designed by Building Design South West.

This house achieved a NatHERS rating of 8.8 stars using NatHERS accredited software (BERSPro). Find out how the star ratings work on the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) website.