A Shared Sustainable Focus – Margate House by Field Labs

With a focus on sustainability, Margate House embraces its site and surrounding environment. Field Labs brings a curious sensibility to the design, proposing an engineered solution that is both beautiful and sustainable.

Located south of Hobart, Margate House sits on a cleared rural site overlooking the D’Entrecasteux Channel and its surrounding rolling pastures. Field Labs’ passion for sustainable and climate-considered design was also shared by the client, meaning that both were determined to create a home that embraces its site and integrates sustainable principles, quite literally, from the ground up. Lined in powder-coated metal sheeting, the exterior provides an enduring and minimal series of lines as it extends outwards towards its enviable views. Internally, it bears a contrasting approach to materiality, balancing subtle warmth with continued simplicity, thus softening the hard exterior while offering a sense of respite within comfortable natural tones.

Field Labs’ passion for sustainable and climate-considered design was also shared by the client, meaning that both were determined to create a home that embraces its site and integrates sustainable principles, quite literally, from the ground up.

The family home stretches to 250 square metres and houses a separate zone for guests. Constructed with SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels), the project employs an innovative technology that sees two OSB (oriented strand board) sheets sandwich framing beams, which are then filled with insulating foam. This approach is once again motivated by sustainability: the encasing boards are supplied by plantations, sequestering carbon while preserving old-growth forests; the foam is a recycled material, requiring less embodied energy (and associated CFCs) to produce; and air quality is preserved as the boards do not release any VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) during their life. The use of SIPs allows for an approximate 50% reduction in energy use to heat and cool the home, further reducing emissions.

As well as the construction of the building itself, the design maximises thermal efficiency with triple-glazed uPVC windows. Through close collaboration between architect and owner (who also shares a background in design), the home speaks to a shared understanding of the importance of sustainable building techniques and the use of available technologies. Engineered by JMG engineering and built by Prefab Lab, this stunning Hobart home is an inspiration for others to take up a similar consideration of sustainable building techniques and materiality.

Through close collaboration between architect and owner (who also shares a background in design), the home speaks to a shared understanding of the importance of sustainable building techniques and the use of available technologies.

Margate House is a deeply considered home, embracing its site while maintaining a simple form that captures the breathtaking views of the D’Entrecasteux Channel and surrounds. As well as considering the location, Field Labs has integrated a profound consideration of sustainability into every element of the design, using highly insulative materials to keep the elements out without disconnecting the building’s inhabitants from the natural landscape. When both architect and client share a passion for the sustainable potential of design, the result is inspiring.