The J&J Residence is a house that is sustainable, energy-efficient and firmly embedded in its place. Rising from the site like a remnant of a previously eroded hilltop, a two-story high, 40m long, 75 tonne rammed earth wall acts as the primary architectural and organising device: – anchoring the building to its place while providing a thermally stable and beautiful interior.
Architecturally, the house is sited to optimise its northern aspect that opens towards a protected eucalypt reserve shared across several adjacent properties and northeastern summer breezes.
Separating the primary northern spaces and the secondary southern sides of the house, the continuous rammed earth wall provides 75 tonnes of “activated thermal mass”.
A series of vertical ducts run through the rammed earth wall, connecting the roof space to an under-floor ventilation system. Heat is drawn into, or out of the mass achieving an air temperature between 18C and 25C for greater than 85% of the year.
Incorporating a suite of sustainability strategies developed by Rob Lord at Seed Engineers, the J&J Residence is a passive design, that significantly reduces the reliance on air conditioning and artificial lighting.
The home utilises natural materials including timbers, stone, rammed earth and low-voc paints.

Photography: Christopher Frederick Jones