Strait House - a certified Passive House Plus

Architect: EME Design

Builder: Martin Builders

Landscape design: The Sustainable Landscape Company

Location: Cape Paterson eco village on Bunurong country

Stylist: Belle Hemming

Taking the playful vernacular of the classic Australian beach shack, the Strait House transposes it to a beachside bolthole at the apex of sustainable design.

Strait House is one of many new homes in the recently developed The Cape housing estate in Cape Paterson - a small coastal village in South Gippsland about 90 minutes from Melbourne. The house not only meets the sustainable housing requirements (7.5 stars) of the estate set by the developer, but exceeds them to achieve a 8.4 NatHERS star rating, and Passive House Plus certification has been obtained. This means it operates energy positive - and over time it will pay back the embodied carbon and then become truly net carbon positive.

The unique challenges of the highest and steepest block of The Cape have been embraced as opportunities, shaping the home’s symbiotic, reflective and harmonious relationship with the landscape.

Architect Luke Middleton designed Kate and Richard’s house specifically to fit its high, exposed site, sizing and placing the windows to make the most of the sea views without compromising the thermal performance.

Strait House’s sustainable design credentials can be credited to its passive design principles that prioritise airtightness, thermal insulation, appropriate windows, ventilation, and minimal thermal bridges. The property also features a 7.3kW battery-ready solar PV system (installed on the roof designed for optimum solar generation with a steep 34 degree north face) and a 10,000 litre underground rainwater tank plumbed to toilets and the garden. Materials are durable and sustainably sourced, such as the raw, locally grown, radial-sawn silvertop ash board and batten cladding.

Hallway of house with concrete floors and timber details

Kitchen with ribbon windows and timber kitchen island, green tiles

Bathroom looking to wardrobe and study with timber and green tiles

Hugging the sloping block overlooking Bass Strait, the home mimics the contours of the land, transposing the energy flow and reinforcing the concept of a house that unpacks on arrival.

Designed to the highest Passive House standards, the floating structure and timber-lined interiors nod to the comforting and time-honoured visual language of the Aussie beach home.

Gradually stepping down in sections, it carefully avoids any sense of disjointedness via a unifying floating gable and ribbon window. The use of “dancing” theatrical columns plays with perspective and provides kinetic visual interest as inhabitants move around the structure.

Both the interior and exterior viewpoints work to unlock the sight lines over Bass Strait to the south east and south west; impact is maximised with a summer deck and a winter deck.

Careful positioning of windows and glass doors create unique moments, framing and editing the views of ocean and bushland while ensuring privacy from a carpark to the north and parkland to the east.