The concept design for the "Royd Clan’s House" in Ceres near Geelong utilising all-timber Glulam and CLT was inspired mainly by the boulders and the remains of the previous house, and will be featured at the ‘Timber Offsite Construction’ conference in June.
Architect Nadine Samaha from Level Architekture says “I wanted to create a structure which emulated these boulders coming from the ground.
“Strong winds on the hill consolidated the idea of fragmenting the house in pavilion clusters which reduces the wind turbulence and appear as boulders.”
“Scattered stones from the remains of the previous house are brought into the existing structure as support for internal stairs. This concept also responded to the need for playful architecture for the clients' active young boys,” says Samaha.
The floor and roof diaphragms are Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), while the inclined wall of each pavilion is constructed with CLT to create a shear wall perpendicular to the portal frames.
Glulam beams and CLT panels were fabricated with CNC machinery to ensure all elements could be assembled with a high degree of precision on site, which is crucial for a structure with unique and complex geometry.
The total volume of timber in the project is 40 cubic metres of Glulam and 180 cubic metres of CLT, which in Australian Pine Plantations will be re-grown in just 17 minutes.
The Ceres project will be a highlight of the Project Panel session program at the ‘Timber Offsite Construction’ conference in June.
For details and online registration, visit the website here.
