Sunninghill House

Designed by Tina and her team at Tziallas Architects, this almost hidden gem is nestled in the NSW Southern Highlands township of Burradoo. The client’s design brief asked for Passive Haus principles to be incorporated within the design and construction of the house to allow the building to be thermally comfortable with minimal running costs, and to easily transition to off-grid living should the client choose. To that end , product selection was key as the building envelope was incredibly important.

Then known as Ritek Roof Systems, Tziallas reached out to discuss the project, its requirements, and how our panel systems might be of use. The clear spanning capability of the ARCPANEL Custom Panel meant the roof spaces would be free of trusses and framework, with this in mind, sections of the house where level ceilings were nominated paved the way for the creation of useful storage spaces and a kids secret retreat. Lining the internal sections of the project allowed Tziallas consider the panels thermal value as a part solution to the projects overall thermal requirement. There is no active heating or cooling throughout the house, apart from a slow-combustion fire in the central living space, yet the temperature in this Burradoo home ranges from 18C to 26C no matter how icy or sweltering it gets outside.

The highly detailed project was meticulously built by Glenn Thomas and his team from GMT Builders, who ensured that meeting the thermal performance requirements of this house was paramount from day one of the build. Having never used our panel systems, ARCPANEL (Then Ritek) liaised with Glenn and his team prior to installation to ensure all queries were answered, and attended site during installation to ensure the installation was carried out successfully. GMT Builders took out the MBA Excellence in Regional Building Awards Best Contract Home $2 million to $3 Million in 2015, with the house later featuring in the April 2016 edition of lifestyle magazine, Highlife.