In the same spirit in which WW II veteran Ron Platter battled on the Kokoda Trail, the patriarch fought local council to build a house as a standing legacy for his family. Architect Louise Nettleton's lavish and inspired use of steel has helped embody his wish.

 

Words: Rob Gillam Photography: Paul Bradshaw

 

The Foxground area on the New South Wales South Coast is idyllically placed. Rolling pastures turned lush by rich basalt soil end in deep horizons of Pacific Ocean to form a border to the east, with the tail of Saddleback Mountain presiding over its western edge. The parcel of land was at the tip of a wider landholding, bounded by a road and creek, and offering, in Ron’s eyes, a logical case for subdivision.

 

His local council, however, saw things differently and rejected Ron’s application.After four years of battling in the Land and Environment Court, Ron finally won permission to build, albeit with restrictions.

 

As architect Louise Nettleton says: “There was a partial clearing on the block and council virtually dictated the siting there. The site area also determined the size of the house and the number of bedrooms we could build.” The incline of the nominated site, sitting high on a hill, presented a challenge. Not so much for the architect, but in order to provide easy access for Ron, whose wartime knee injuries required his leg to be fused straight.

 

 

“Ron couldn’t bend his leg so it was difficult for him to walk between levels,” says Nettleton. “So apart from the garage, which is under the house, we put everything on the same level.

 

Restraint was transformed into feature with the creation of a northwest-facing dedicated ‘sleeping wing’ which comprises the main bedrooms at opposite ends. Between them is a bathroom and a third bedroom filled with bunks to accommodate the grandchildren. Intersecting the sleeping area is a perpendicular northeast-facing living area that opens up to valley views. These distinct areas both open on to a gigantic outdoor deck.

 

For a house visited infrequently but by many different people, it was important that it be as low maintenance as possible. After initially considering using weathering steel for exterior cladding, Nettleton instead chose LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB® profile made from galvanised steel. “From a practical point of view it’s perfect because it doesn’t require much looking after,” she says. “It’s a simple, inextravagant material that suits its semi-rural location. “I also like the aesthetic of the galvanised finish. Its rawness provides colour separation against the dark micaceous oxide of the structural steel – it’s a very complementary palette – and provides a textural contrast to the bush surround.” Nettleton says she has many reasons to favour steel for cladding.

 

“I use steel a lot in my buildings. What I love about it is that it has inherent strength yet also such a ‘fineness’ and slenderness,” she explains. “For cladding, it’s not as precious as materials you have to join and seal in vertical and horizontal patterns. It’s easy to fix from a builder’s point of view because you can readily hide the joins with overlapping curves in the material. That crisp detailing is a real plus.” The Foxground House cladding has been fixed quite simply. “Basically, just screwed into the wooden panels behind in a pretty standard way,” Nettleton says. “Where it meets a frame it isn’t butted straight into the timber, it has an angle in the steel that bends around to avoid a sharp face, and that becomes its end flashing. Where the CUSTOM ORB® profile abuts a column, we use foam filler and the end angle flashing.”

An exception to the standard fixing is found in the inclusion of large, sliding window shutters, which are also clad externally in LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB® profile made from galvanised steel, and internally in LYSAGHT MINI ORB® profile made from galvanized steel. Both profiles are fixed to an aluminium frame similar to the door and insect-screen frames that sit behind.

 

The steel shutters are multifunctional in that they provide additional security for the often unoccupied house by enabling entire sections to be completely closed off. They also help control temperature in the naturally ventilated house by variously channelling or blocking sunlight and breeze. When closed, the shutters accentuate the linear design of the separate wings and give the house an almost bunker-like appearance.

 

Structural steel is also used liberally throughout. SHS columns hide within the walls and where they meet a window they have a 150 x 20mm steel flat welded to the top plate and left exposed. The base of the living wing terminates with a customized 250 PFC expressed externally, with the bottom flanges removed to prevent water ponding. The living area, particularly, makes use of steel cross beams which brace the floor and assist with a cantilever that extends the northeast-facing main windows beyond the rest of the house.

A canopy of remnant rainforest would have obstructed views to the valley beyond it, had not Nettleton chosen to elevate the house above grade. “I tend to prefer to be above the ground, rather than right on it,” she says. “It’s beautiful being in tree canopies, rather than under them, so I put the main view and deck view in and around the canopy to take in views to the other side of the valley.”

 

www.SteelProfile.com.au

 

Project Summary

Project:	Foxground House, Australia
Architect:	Louise Nettleton Architect
Project Team:	Bernard Whitcher, Andy Kraemer
Structural & Civil Engineer:	James Taylor Associates
Builder:	Tony Lake Constructions
Cladding Contractor:	Bomaderry Sheet Metal
Principal steel components Cladding:	LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB® profile made from galvanised steel (exterior) and LYSAGHT MINI ORB® profile made from galvanised steel (interior); Roofing: Stramit Capacity Plus® profile in the colour Shale Grey™, exposed structural sections including UCs, PFCs, angles and flats Total Project Timeframe 15 months (construction)
Total Project Timeframe:	15 months (construction)
Building Size:	200m2
Total Project Cost:	$900,000