An old warehouse converts into a sustainable family home

Warehouse Greenhouse is an adaptive re-use project in Brunswick, Victoria converting an old warehouse into a comfortable and sustainable family home. Much of the original building has been preserved and either left in place or reimagined. The existing concrete flooring and brick walls have been retained and the old roof has been repurposed into stair treds and ceiling trusses.

Anything new added to be building for the new extension was selected for it’s sustainability attributes, such as the Eco-ply internal wall cladding (in lieu of plasterboard), Australian made bathroom tiles and other recycled or reused items such as bricks, decking, light fittings, timber and the toilet.

The home has been made comfortable for the family through it’s new air tight protective inner shell and is passively heated and cooled via a ventilation system. Ceiling fans are also used in the warmer months.

There are many gorgeous pockets of potted gardens throughout the home which help to soften the home and provide a connection to nature, which you wouldn’t ordinarily experience in a building such as this, and makes for a restful, comfortable and downright gorgeous family home.

Sustainability specs:
– There is a very, very long list of specs (which is bloody fabulous) so I’ll only have room to list the main ones.
– Adaptive re-use of old warehouse
– Airtight and draught proof through extensive insulation in walls, ceiling, floor
– Heat recovery and heat exchange ventilation system
– Ceiling fans used for cooling
– Eco-ply internal cladding
– Recycled timber kitchen bench, stair treds an trusses
– 3000L slimline rainwater storage tank
– All electric home
– Efficient appliances and lighting

The approach was to harness the embodied energy of the existing building; to keep as much as possible and add only what was necessary. This project is an exercise in considered restraint. The clients care deeply about the environment and worked with us, meticulously, to build a hand crafted, beautifully insulated small footprint family home.