a unique solution

we have a tiny amount of money to start updating the house

on thursday, ben statkus came over to give the house the once over
the practice is just around the corner in simpson st, northcote

some of the builds that caught our interest
music room in northcote

Owner Testimonial

We own a house in Northcote, Melbourne and engaged Ben Statkus of Statkus Architecture to design and project manage a renovation and studio extension on our 1920s weatherboard house in 2009.

The brief was to design a stand alone studio in our backyard with two rooms, one of which could be used as a music studio and the other as a study/spare room. We also wanted the existing laundry in the main part of the house renovated and the studio and old part of the house tied together in some way.

Ben came up with a design that more than met this brief. His design was modern and exciting and it has opened up our house considerably. The stand alone studio has become a great feature of our house whilst still maintaining a link with the 1920s original house through the use of a deck and pergola. Visitors who come to our house always comment on how interesting the design is and how fantastic it all looks.

We found Ben to be very dedicated to coming up with a design that would suit us and our needs. He was very thorough and easy to work with as we discussed the design as it progressed. Once building commenced, his input into the process was invaluable and he gave us more assistance when it emerged we needed to do some unforeseen work on our foundations of our existing house.

It has been a pleasure using the space Ben designed and we are looking forward to enjoying it for many years to come.

this one in macclesfield

xx

build me up, flat in argentina

story about a flat in argentina, sourcing recycled materials (inhabitat)

solar school

A newly opened solar powered school in Wolfhagen, Germany has repurposed an old cold war army barracks into an energy-efficient modern learning environment. The visionary design takes advantage of the huge footprint of the former tank armory to tuck a campus underneath, while the roof was replaced with translucent thin-film solar panels. The vocational school is a excellent example of green architecture that exposes students to sustainability while providing a beautiful, light-filled, and airy building to learn in.
The immense translucent roof is a marvel– 5000 square meters of the panes are outfitted with 7160 thin film solar modules. Due to their 1 micron-thick profile they are semi-translucent, which allows lots of light into the building while reducing glare and heat. Windows on the side walls open automatically to provide natural ventilation and fresh air. The 220 kW array is one of largest of its kind in Europe.
The immense translucent roof is a marvel– 5000 square meters of the panes are outfitted with 7160 thin film solar modules. Due to their 1 micron-thick profile they are semi-translucent, which allows lots of light into the building while reducing glare and heat. Windows on the side walls open automatically to provide natural ventilation and fresh air. The 220 kW array is one of largest of its kind in Europe.

other ways of living

a nice interpretation of nesting boxes

(1) pallet pavillion

i love the quality of light, as well as the sinous curve

(2) an eco-emergency house (made from pallets)

i expect it's both ecologically sustaiable in its build, and made for environmental emergencies

(3) design build bluff
houses designed by students from the university of utah, with a focus on creating sustainable, affordable housing, as well as utilising the pallet aesthetic
reading alcove

(4) pallet theatre

a recylced cardboard house!

and a "garden of knowledge" - recycled knowledge, made of second hand books

sustainable house day

Sunday 12th September 2010 is sustainable house day
what does this mean??
it means you go around and sticky beak at other peoples' sustainable houses and pinch their ideas
house addresses aren't available yet check back soon!

second life

no virtual avatar crap, but second hand furniture and fixings and bits and pieces
and places to get it

junk company, more stuff here
583 Elizabeth st, Melbourne, (03) 9328 8121

select salvage (more building seconds, windows etc, but they have iron-baths too ...)


the cool room - as the name and website suggest, over-priced but maybe ok for fancy bits
133 Carlisle Street, Balaclava, VIC 3182, (03) 9531 4524

swan st (auctions) & sales - big place on swan st, richmond
365 Swan St, Richmond VIC 3121, (03) 9428 0677

know your product - cool retro shop, run by nice ace types, also with kyp blog!
cnr union st & high st, westgarth, (03) 9486 1116

lost & found market - i get a weird feeling when i go in here, like i've fallen through the rabbit hole and am back in the 80s in greville st, and "alternative" was still a word that made some sense - this place is staffed by "alternative" uni students...
12 Smith Street, Collingwood

camberwell market

planet 9

planet architecture
an architecture firm that understands that small renovations happen fees - Small……………………………………$1,390

10 tips for a sustainable house

little house on the prairie

archicentre renovation seminar

Renovation Workshop- 6.30pm Tuesday 20 July 2010
Renovating can be rewarding BUT...it can also cost too much, take too long and be less than hoped for if you don't know what you're doing! Archicentre designs thousands of home renovations every year...we know what works, how much it will cost and how best to get it done.

Northcote Town Hall in the Roof Top room, 189 High Street, Northcote
Registration 6pm - starting time 6.30pm

archicentre information..

Archicentre Guide to Sustainable Home
10 Top Energy Saving Improvement
1. Door & window seals $200-$300
2. Ceiling insulation $1,200-$1,800
3. Evaporative cooling system $2,000-$3,000
4. External blinds $600 - $1,200
5. Ceiling fan/s $400 - $600
6. Energy-efficient appliances $800 - $1,200
7. Solar-boosted hot water $4,000 - $5,000
8. Install damped exhaust fan $300 - $500
9. Install down-light guards $300 - $500
10. Replace light globes $100 - $200

Archicentre Re-Stumping

Archicentre Health & Safety Warning

DIY Design Guide for the Home Renovator

Working with your Architect Master Planning your Renovation

Guide to Water Wise Living

Guide to Energy-Wise Living

speed dating about architecture

chatting up architects about sustainable design as part of the state of design festival 2010

Do you have plans for a new green home? Are you looking to renovate your house to make it more sustainable? Bring in your plans or ideas and talk to Australia’s leading sustainable architects and designers. 10 minute slots per ‘couple’ – all questions asked and answered!

exhibition buildings

saturday, 17 july

third ecology 2.20 pm

lifehouse design 2.40 pm

sustaining your interest

pumphouse design do sustainable & interesting building/design work

jane & brendan are getting their house done by them, up in castlemaine (or outskirts)

getting picky

how do you find an architect you like within the parameters you need?
*someone good to work with
*someone who produces work you like and will give you a space you like
*sustainable design
*keeps costs down

other people's
Tips on finding your Architect (uk)
Ten tips how to find or choose an architect (us)
advice from local architect, paul coffey, on rrr 'the architects' (podcasts) and works for gregory burgess:
Design something well, in this case a building, and you will never need to change it.
The reason people renovate buildings (excepting changes in program to accomodate more or less people) like the ones shown is because they are particularly bad buildings. No design and average/poor construction.
Here's another few invaluable tips;
- Avoid lifestyle TV
- Avoid anything that is promoted as stylish.
- Avoid the word 'style' altogether.
- Also avoid words such as 'trend', 'contemporary', 'feature wall' etc.
- Ceiling fans are great. If you look further than Channel 7 or 9, you will discover that there are some well designed and modestly priced ones on the market, plus you don't have some ridiculous plastic box stuck to your roof.
- Stop, stand back, have a serious and objective look at your building and have a serious and objective think about what it will need to work at it's optimum. Then build that.
- or speak to someone who knows what they are talking about.

age blog - renovation nation
and the author's other website, http://www.renovationplanning.com.au/ hmm
includes:
how much should it cost (2009 $$)
second hand building materials
renovating to budget tips
energy-saving renovation
dos/don'ts for the bathroom
dos/don'ts for the kitchen
lots of researching ...

steel frames for the owner builder (and presumably architects)

and! a real-life cheap reno story

studio