Dawes Project

The Dawes Residence is an energy efficient home located in the most recent development in Kingston - Kingston Foreshores. Kingston is suburb in the Australian Capital Territory where a large number of homes are being built along the foreshore of Lake Burley Griffin.

The clients were eager to make the most out of their supurb location as well as create a home that had a state-of-the-art energy performance. 

The clients also had a strong desire to have a home with a great indoor/outdoor flow, where internal rooms opened out onto balconies and decks. 

Architect Tony Trobe of TT Architecture was appointed the difficult task of designing this house that required much design and material thought. 

Tony used various techniques and materials in the design process to ensure the home was as energy efficient and practical as possible. 

Tony designed the home with large spans of glazing to ensure the views of Lake Burley Griffin were maximised. To ensure the home suited the other architecturally inspired residential properties in the area, Tony designed the home with various shapes, including a large skillion roof as well as lots of triangular features throughout. 

Due to the extent of the glazing required throughout, Tony Trobe relied heavily on aluminium window and door fabricator Viewco Glass, whom he had worked closely with in the past to advise on correct specification and installation detail.

Tony appreciated the extent of Viewco Glass’s experience and expertise with aluminium windows and doors as they were able to provide practical input into the design process.

As the block is quite tight to the building envelope, the home was designed with high ceilings to create a sense of space. The large ceilings allowed Tony Trobe the opportunity to use large spans of glazing to ensure the view of Lake Burley Griffin was maximised. 

With the advice from Viewco Glass, Tony decided on the ThermalHEART™ range of bi-fold doors for the feature at the back of the home. They decided to use the ThermalHEART™ systems as Tony did not want to compromise on the size of the bi-fold doors, but still required a high performance glazing system to ensure the large spans of glass didn’t negatively impact the thermal efficiency of the home. 

The ThermalHEART™ system allowed for the design the flexibility of large panel, thermally efficient and low maintenance windows and doors.

Other systems used on this project were a large ThermalHEART™ 731 Sliding door which was located on the first level to look over Lake Burley Griffen. ThermalHEART™ Series 726 awning windows were used throughout the home to ensure ventilation as well as several Series 525 Louvre windows which also helped with ventilation and created a thermal chimney within the home.

The overall project is a thermally efficient home that maximises the amazing views of its surroundings.