Solar-powered Bush House exemplifies chic eco-friendly living in the Australian outback

If you’re a fan of glamping, you’ll love this eco-friendly passive home nestled in the Australian outback. Archterra Architects designed the Bush House, a solar-powered abode that blends environmental sustainability with contemporary luxury. Located near Margaret River in western Australia, this low-profile house is topped with a single-pitched roof to “distill into built form, the feelings of camping under a simple sheltering tarp.”

Built for minimal maintenance, the 168-square-meter Bush Home was constructed with prefab steel frames and clad in zincalume steel and large windows. The galvanized steel framing, which is also used in the interior, will develop a mottled patina over time. A large single-pitched roof with large overhanging eaves protects the home from unwanted solar heat gain.

The home is arranged in a simple rectangular plan bisected by a thick rammed-earth wall that separates the interior into its two main parts: the sleeping quarters on the west and the living zone to the east. The seamless indoor-outdoor experience is strengthened by the large cedar-frame windows that opens the home up to views and natural light, as well as the use of wood, that continues from the recycled jarrah wood planks used on the outdoor decking into the interior, where Australian Hoop pine lines the ceilings.

The Bush House follows passive solar strategies to minimize energy use, such as northern orientation, the promotion of cooling cross-flow ventilation, and solar shading. Two rammed earth walls and a concrete floor slab help retain thermal mass. The house is also equipped with a 3kW ground-mounted solar array, rooftop solar hot water heater, and a worm-farm blackwater treatment system that irrigates the garden with recycled, nutrient-rich water.

Source: inhabitat