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Building a Home

2 story with green roof in the mountains - First time build advice

2 years ago

Hi All!

First time build for me (I have no experience in design or construction). Keen to get any advice or thoughts from those of you who have some expertise or experience!

Below are my rough plans on a 2 story green roof build on a block of land I have in Warburton, VIC.

The main things the design is focused on is trying to capture the prevailing SSE views of the mountains, whilst getting as much light and elevation as possible on a southerly facing build.

My current wish list includes;

Extensive glazing on the southern/mountain side
Clerestory windows and skylights to bring in more light from the north
2 story
- 2 bedroom / 1 bath / 1 living downstairs
- Kitchen / open living / 1 bedroom / 1 bath on the 1st floor
Decking / sliding doors access from downstairs to connect all bedrooms and living spaces with the outdoors
Smaller balcony on the 1st floor to open the living area up to outside without blocking the view
Building at the back of the block (rear of the block has the most elevation)
a full green roof with access (external stairs - assuming that might be cheaper, saves floor plan space)

I realise the green roof will add significant cost (ideally 200-400mm of soil), and am currently thinking a CMU/Besser block build would help keep the costs down whilst providing the load bearing strength it would need.

I've been able to model the surrounding topography/orientation/sun position in Twinmotion. This helped me work out how the sun and view interact with the design at different times of the year (on a side note I can view it in VR which is pretty cool).

Here is a walkthrough video to add some context to the design (ignore furnishings etc, they are just for scale):

I'm not really sure where I should go next. Ideally I'd love to work through the different build costs and engineering options to refine the design based on what's realistic (price wise). E.g. steel i beams cost vs concrete pillars for structural support above the glazing. Not sure if this is something I need to go via an architect for, or if there are more cost efficient ways to work this out?

Anyways, thanks for taking a look and let me know what you think / any thoughts as to next steps.

Notes on the land:

Size: ~23 metres wide x 53metres long at longest - 39metres at shortest
Sloping block (~12-16 degrees - closer to 12 in the desired build area)
Low Density Residential Zone
Bushfire Management Overlay
Significant Landscape Overlay 22
(No erosion management overlay)

Floor Plan & a few renders:

Ground

First floor

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Comments (3)

oklouise
2 years ago
the most cost efficient solution is a great design and your 3D images are çool but you''ll need a local specialist to help with the engineering and structural details and an architect focused on passive solar design would be my first choice but, to help with some basic floorplan ideas, we need to better understand your proposal ...will you be connected to water power and sewerage or do these need to be supplied on site, is there any restriction to the building site, we need a site plan showing any specified building pad, setbacks and entry point, is there an existing driveway suitable for concrete and other delivery trucks and cranes, will you need any additional buildings for garaging etc what are the extremes of local wind and weather but mostly i'm wondering why you want two stories when you have so much space and have you considered an underground build instead of a green roof and check the plans on the yourhome.gov.au site for some basic passive solar plans and advice?
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User
2 years ago
I don't know enough about Green Roofs and the like , but obviously it is the way we are all heading , so good on you -- like oklouise , I assume you will carry through with solar energy , self composting and the like -- IMO you spend the $$$ and do everything you can , or just stick to standard builds . Doing a bit doesn't really achieve much , so again things like double glazing and insulation I assume is a given , especially as you want lots of windows .

I also can't work out why you'd have a reasonable sized living area downstairs either -- it won't have the views , the practicality or even the closeness to the kitchen haha of upstairs -- and without knowing the weather and prevailing wind directions , I would have thought you'd have the larger deck upstairs for the views , unless it was only a summertime residence ?

The VR looks cool !
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Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks for the replies oklouise & pottsy99.

Re Solar, i'd like to go down that route, but it might be difficult to get enough sun. There are a lot of large trees surrounding the block and with the southerly facing slope I'm not sure it would work. Something i'll explore through.

Double-glazing is a must for sure. Most will be fixed windows. Ideally upvc steel reinforced, though maybe Aluminium depending on how the costs go.

re services, water and electricity are available, though the sewerage connection might not be ready by the time I build (the Warburton area is currently being connected), so I may need a septic system.

Driveway needs some work first, but should allow trucks up.. I may need to do some pruning to get a crane in though. :/

A fair point re the extra living space downstairs. I think the idea I had in my head is eventually I might add an outdoor fireplace off the deck and a spa. Having the living space connected to the deck/yard/spa/fireplace would be more convenient. Also allows kids/adults to have their own space that isn't a bedroom. I'm also trying to avoid the darker/shaded area downstairs that would occur if I had a larger overhanging upstairs deck. Plus of course I'd have the roof deck too. Still something I might think on.

I'm going up instead of down for the extra light and the views. Not just a summer residence.

No setbacks to worry about on the area I want to build, but I'll have to consider BAL ratings. No other buildings / sheds garages for now. I'm not too worried about those.

Agree I need to speak to a professional, just got to find the right people and make sure I've done enough research first.

Thanks again.

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