BVN Architecture earned an Hounorable Mention in last year’s Living Steel International Architecture Competition for Sustainable Housing. The challenge for architects was to create energy-efficient, single-family, detached housing that minimises climate change emissions, yet is affordable to build and buy. The competitors were required to use steel in their designs for homes in Cherepovets, Russian Federation, where temperatures range from -49C to +34C.

BVN Architecture is one of Australia’ largest architectural firms, with offices in all the major east-coast cities. BVN’s team of principal architect Chris Clarke and award-winning, up-and-coming young architect Joel Kelder presented their firm’s concepts to the competition jury in Helsinki in June 2008.

We had a chance to ask Chris Clarke to expand on the ideas that led to the BVN design entry:

Living Steel: Please tell us about your broad philosophy and emphasis on design solutions that respond appropriately to function, climate and place.

Chris Clarke: We look closely at the climatic influences such as sensible sun and shade requirements to reduce energy cooling or heating loads. Similarly we look at local traditions and crafts to see if they can be incorporated in the design. For example, in the Cherepovets housing competition, the snow on the roof and shedding from the building, the orientation to the sun, and an understanding of the local Russian style of housing influenced our design direction.

Joel Kelder and Chris Clarke

LS: You’ve used the term, “highly rational” to describe your approach to building design. Please explain.

CC: I tend to look quite objectively at the needs of the programme brief in an almost scientific way to formulate design solutions to fit the requirements. (Although) there may be a preconception that architects choose forms or materials on an "instinctive" basis only (like an artist), we believe this is incorrect as we have to justify every design choice on a functional and performance basis. However, that is not to ignore human and sensual matters which also become part of the mix in making design decisions.

LS: Tell us about the steel-framed houses you have designed.

CC: I like the precision of steel components. I enjoy the minimal use of materials that can occur when we use a very strong material such as steel. So even though steel is a high-embodied energy material, we can use very little of it to create the primary framing members in a building. I have also used more traditional materials such as brickwork and concrete, and even though they have their place in construction, they can be very messy, very inaccurate, and very restrictive in the creation of a building where one should see craftsmanship and quality as part of the material choice. With steel, even the designing, documenting and receiving of shop drawings for approval results in a better considered construction process than the traditional "figure it out on site" approach to construction with traditional materials.

LS: “Sustainable housing” is a widely used term. What does it mean to you?

CC: This would mean houses with a long life, with minimal energy use, with an accent on the provision of daylight for both its functional and sensual properties. The embodied energy of materials, as well as the quantum of materials, must also be considered in the creation of a sustainable house. Such a house should be subject to change to suit the changing seasons, and ideally should involve a steel frame or similar which may permit future changes to occur when family needs change.

LS: Further to this point, please explain your innovative use of steel in Living Steel’s 3rd competition submission to minimize material usage and save energy.

CC: In the case of the Russian housing project, we considered the fact that the houses will have more walls than windows, so it is more rational and innovative to use the strong steel studwork as the supporting structure rather than have a primary steel frame plus infill panels. There has been considerable advance in the detailed design of lightweight steel components such as studs, roof framing, and floor framing which can be utilised in new house design and construction to optimise the use of materials. The use of high-tensile steel for materials will also result in the use of less material but must be balanced with ease of use.

LS: Your design features “double height living spaces” and hot water heat in the first floor. Why?

CC: I live in a house with a double height living space and the psychological advantages of "vertical space," together with better potential for daylight from a higher angle, creates a more "livable" house. A sense of "generosity of space" is a worthwhile objective to improve the livability of the house. The hot water heating system is an "opportunistic" one whereby the use of a concrete ground floor slab is an obvious choice to create a "heat sink" and reduce the need for central heating radiators at this level. On the upper level where the construction is more lightweight (so no obvious potential of a heat sink), we suggest more conventional radiators for space heating.