Snowy Mountains House Scoops COLORBOND® Award At This Year’s AIA Awards

Location:	Jindabyne, New South Wales
Country:	Australia
Architect:	James Stockwell Architects
Products Used:	LYSAGHT CUSTOM BLUE ORB® Classic Cream™ Colour Schemes
Awards:	2009 COLORBOND® Award for Steel Architecture Highly Commended in the 2009 BPN Sustainability Awards Single Dwelling (New)

The Snowy Mountains House, located in a lakeside village around 20kms from Jindabyne in NSW, is an unusual and striking holiday home designed by James Stockwell of James Stockwell Architects.

It was awarded the 2009 COLORBOND® Award for Steel Architecture at the Australian Institute of Architects Awards for its innovative use of the material as well as picking up Highly Commended in the 2009 BPN Sustainability Awards Single Dwelling (New) category.

The design brief for the home was for a low maintenance, low cost and environmentally conscious building that took in the extensive views of the beautiful Snowy Mountains landscape. In addition to this, the house will be subjected to gale force winds and extreme temperatures including snow and the threat of bushfires so it must be weatherproof and able to withstand these harsh conditions.

A suitable site on the eight hectare property was found. Situated in a wind shadow to reduce the wind chill factor, this spot was on a small ridge with a rocky outcrop just in front which could act as a windbreak whilst making the most of the views across Lake Jindabyne.

"At this stage I didn’t have a design in mind, but I knew it had to be long and narrow to limit western exposure with broad side facing north so I had a configuration and was looking for ideas," commented James.

To help combat the high winds James designed a uniquely shaped curved roof made from LYSAGHT CUSTOM BLUE ORB® to allow the wind to pass over the surface as well as helping the building to blend into the surrounding rugged bush setting.

"From the outset I was intent on building with LYSAGHT CUSTOM BLUE ORB® because it is cost effective, durable, low maintenance and it is culturally and contextually appropriate," James added.

Internally the domed ceiling is lined with COLORBOND® steel in the colour Classic Cream™. This mirrored the inside of an egg and created a warm and cosy atmosphere in contrast to the appearance of the bright metal cladding of the exterior.

The interior is segmented into bathrooms, hallway and bedrooms at the eastern end and open-plan living, dining, kitchen to the west. In contrast to the 55 degree pitch of the external walls the interior walls, floor and ceilings meet at right angles to help simplify the installation of doors, external openings, joinery and furniture.

Manu Siitonen from BlueScope Steel said: "As a long term partner of the Australian Institute of Architects, BlueScope Steel takes a keen interest in new projects and developments that feature steel products and each year we see amazing and innovative designs that never fail to impress. The Snowy Mountains House is a great example of design excellence."

For further information visit www.colorbond.com or call 1800 022 999.