A striking house in steel and glass perched midway up a steep ridge in virgin bushland near Darwin has received two major prizes in the National Architecture Awards of 2002. The Rozak House was designed by Troppo Architects in Darwin on bushland surrounding Lake Bennet 80 km south of Darwin. Designed for American IT specialist, Mike Rozak, the house sprawls out in three modules across the ridge with an inside out theme. It has received the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) National Sustainable Architecture Award and a commendation in the residential category.

The Royal Australian Institute of Architects awards jury found that the house made a powerful and striking contribution to contemporary architectural expression, while it successfully reassesses the notion of shelter and home. The Rozak House responds to the peculiar and harsh top end climate and demonstrates a clear understanding of how to produce comfortable architecture in a hot climate. While the entire house is only 200 square metres, it is 30 metres in length. The house displays a strong affinity with the northern Australian landscape.

Sitting in high and isolated on a rocky outcrop, the house overlooks nearby Lake Bennet and is immersed in the surrounding rugged and inhospitable terrain. Three small-scale structures fan into the landscape on elevated platforms. Linked by decked walkways, two bedroom pavilions lean towards and make the most of its southerly outlook. Twisted corrugated-steel roof planes projected into their surroundings, evoking stretched fabric canopies and reinforcing the simplicity of the enclosures.

Troppo Architects representative Alison Shepherd said the idea of interconnected pavilions proposed by Troppo principal Adrian Welke appealed to Mike Rozak, who was keen to create a house that felt like one veranda, where some separation between living and sleeping areas was required. Southern openings are screened from the outside only by a thin sheet of fly-wire mesh, exposing internal spaces to the exterior and maximizing the potential for outdoor living. Glass and timber louvres, fly screens and slatted timber floors all encourage cross-ventilation and, combined with the use of lightweight and heat-reflective materials, provide shading and shelter from the intensities of the tropical climate. The Rozak House demonstrates that houses do not require large amounts of supplied energy by the usage of lightweight steel building technology to minimise its impact on the environment, while using solar power and rainwater collection to be self sufficient in power generation and water supply. Power is gathered through solar voltaic cells, stored on site, and converted for use in the house. Hot water is provided through a solar hot water system. Water used is rainwater collected from the roof in 120,000 litre tanks. Wastewater is treated in a Dowmus-type compost system and excess water is irrigated. And all this has been aesthetically integrated into a strong architectural concept.

Each pavilion is clad on the outside with corrugated sheeting made from Zincalume steel, which also met Mike Rozak’s concerns about fire resistance. The steel is also used to create the pitched roofs which are designed to vent hot air out through the roof space by convection. The steel theme is carried into the interior with the ceilings and walls made from the steel. Incorporating comprehensive environmental responsiveness, a transparency of structure and a compelling engagement with its views, the Rozak House establishes a strong connection with its landscape and embraces a particularly Australian ethic of living, its planning, structure and form promoting a sense of ‘camping out’.

[Show as slideshow]