Fly Into The Ford Residence

Location:	Esperance, Western Australia
Country:	Australia
Architect:	Ramm's Building Design
Products Used:	COLORBOND® steel Surfmist® Colour Schemes Surfmist® Colour Tips
Awards:	HIA Greensmart Awards (WA) - Building of the Year 2009 HIA Great Southern Housing awards - 2008 Residential Building Designer of the Year

The Ford residence, set on a 400 acre farmlet in Esperance, Western Australia, is a stunning example of sustainable best practise building.

The home was built for retirees David and Jen to reward themselves with a new home and hangar to suit the beach lifestyle and vista outlook where they could entertain visiting family and friends.

Designed by Ramm's Building Design, the home has won numerous awards for its sustainable credentials including HIA Greensmart Awards (WA) - Building of the Year 2009; HIA Great Southern Housing awards - 2008 Residential Building Designer of the Year; and finalist of the BDAWA 2008 – Special Projects/Structures and Environmentally Sustainable Buildings.

The aim of the project was to create a dwelling that addressed the coastal lifestyle and views over the southern ocean and design a home with best sustainable practises, which it has certainly done.

Settling neatly into the landscape, the house boasts uninterrupted views of the extensive panorama of the Esperance townsite, bay, ocean and port from the living area and of the southern coastal outlook from the kitchen and alfresco area.

The home is almost completely self sufficient because it is not connected to a power grid or mains water supply and features double glazed windows and passive solar heating together with reverse brick veneer wall construction (an internal trombe heat sink wall) and the extensive use of steel throughout which will helps to increase the thermal efficiency of the home.

A simple yet stunning roof made from COLORBOND® steel in the colour Surfmist® broken down into several segments allows for natural light to spill into all living rooms, passages and relevant bedrooms all year round and continues over as a cantilever to form the verandas.

External finishes for the walls are a composite mix of render, COLORBOND® steel and boarding which tie the house into the natural surroundings and are reminiscent of the southern coastal beach lifestyle.

The sun bathed home has also been designed to showcase the family's art collection, the airy passageway connecting David and Jen's entry to the main living area creates a juxtaposition of the simplicity of the cladding made from COLORBOND® steel against the intricacy of the art creates a striking focal point of the home.

An extremely large alfresco area for barbeques and entertaining on the protected northern side of the property, connects to a covered swimming pool area and a private airstrip allows David to continue to train pilots and also for visitors to arrive by car or plane.