-
Courses
Courses
-
Future Students
Courses
-
Current Students
You and Your CourseOpportunities
-
Research and Teaching
Our ResearchResearch Degrees
-
Partners and Community
Partner with JCU
- About JCU
Partner with JCU- Advanced Analytical Centre
- Accommodation
- Alumni
- ATSIP
- Association of Australian University Secretaries
- Australian Quantum & Classical Transport Physics Group
- Careers and Employability
- CMT
- College of Healthcare Sciences
- College of Medicine and Dentistry
- Division of Tropical Environments and Societies
- Estate
- Graduation
- IERC
- International Students
- JCU Eduquarium
- JCU Halls of Residence
- Language and Culture Research Centre
- Library
- Marine Geophysics Laboratory
- Open Day
- Parents and Partners
- Pathways to University
- Planning and Performance
- Policy
- Professional Experience Placement
- Rapid Assessment Unit
- JCU Connect
- Scholarships @ JCU
- Staff
- Tropical Sustainable Design Case Studies
-
About
-
By building type
-
All
- CASE STUDY: Campus District Cooling System with Large Scale Thermal Energy Water Storage: James Cook University, Cairns Campus
- CASE STUDY: The Cairns Institute
- CASE STUDY: James Cook University Daintree Rainforest Observatory
- CASE STUDY: William McCormack Place
- CASE STUDY: The Log Cabin
- CASE STUDY: RPS (Conics) Building
- CASE STUDY: Skyrail
- CASE STUDY: Stack Close Residence
- CASE STUDY: SUNBIRD HOUSE
- CASE STUDY: Glass House
- CASE STUDY: Cairns Foreshore Redevelopment
- CASE STUDY: Carramorr
- CASE STUDY: Rose Gums Wilderness Retreat
- CASE STUDY: Clare Street
- CASE STUDY: Redlynch Central Sports Centre
- CASE STUDY: Apex Residence
- CASE STUDY: The Kula House
- CASE STUDY: Smithfield Village
- CASE STUDY: Teece Residence
- CASE STUDY: Redlynch Valley Residence
- CASE STUDY: Tranquil Place Residence
- CASE STUDY: MOORE’S GULLY
- CASE STUDY: Malanda Falls Visitor Centre
- CASE STUDY: Edge Hill State School Environmental Interpretive Centre
- Civil
- Civic
- Residential
- Commercial
- Institutional
-
All
-
By key focus areas
- Contact us
- VAVS Home
- Media & Comms
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine
- About JCU

Tropical Sustainable Design Case Studies By building type All CASE STUDY: Glass House
CASE STUDY: Glass House
- Courses
- Future Students
- Current Students
- Research and Teaching
- Partners and Community
- About JCU
- Advanced Analytical Centre
- Accommodation
- Alumni
- ATSIP
- Association of Australian University Secretaries
- Australian Quantum & Classical Transport Physics Group
- Careers and Employability
- CMT
- College of Healthcare Sciences
- College of Medicine and Dentistry
- Division of Tropical Environments and Societies
- Estate
- Graduation
- IERC
- International Students
- JCU Eduquarium
- JCU Halls of Residence
- Language and Culture Research Centre
- Library
- Marine Geophysics Laboratory
- Open Day
- Parents and Partners
- Pathways to University
- Planning and Performance
- Policy
- Professional Experience Placement
- Rapid Assessment Unit
- JCU Connect
- Scholarships @ JCU
- Staff
-
Tropical Sustainable Design Case Studies
- About
-
By building type
-
All
- CASE STUDY: Campus District Cooling System with Large Scale Thermal Energy Water Storage: James Cook University, Cairns Campus
- CASE STUDY: The Cairns Institute
- CASE STUDY: James Cook University Daintree Rainforest Observatory
- CASE STUDY: William McCormack Place
- CASE STUDY: The Log Cabin
- CASE STUDY: RPS (Conics) Building
- CASE STUDY: Skyrail
- CASE STUDY: Stack Close Residence
- CASE STUDY: SUNBIRD HOUSE
- CASE STUDY: Glass House
- CASE STUDY: Cairns Foreshore Redevelopment
- CASE STUDY: Carramorr
- CASE STUDY: Rose Gums Wilderness Retreat
- CASE STUDY: Clare Street
- CASE STUDY: Redlynch Central Sports Centre
- CASE STUDY: Apex Residence
- CASE STUDY: The Kula House
- CASE STUDY: Smithfield Village
- CASE STUDY: Teece Residence
- CASE STUDY: Redlynch Valley Residence
- CASE STUDY: Tranquil Place Residence
- CASE STUDY: MOORE’S GULLY
- CASE STUDY: Malanda Falls Visitor Centre
- CASE STUDY: Edge Hill State School Environmental Interpretive Centre
- Civil
- Civic
- Residential
- Commercial
- Institutional
-
All
- By key focus areas
- Contact us
- VAVS Home
- Media & Comms
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine
RESIDENTIAL
Key facts:
An iconic modernist pavilion within a wet tropical setting
The main living areas and circulation zones are literally open, outdoor conditions under cover
Project data:
Location: Edge Hill, Cairns QLD, Australia
Year completed: 2013
OVERVIEW
This project is a re-presentation of Phillip Johnson’s Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut, USA – less the glass – making it a perfectly adaptable modernist prototype for contemporary living in tropical latitudes. This residence is a new housing prototype and a re-think of the possibilities of a typical suburban context within our tropical cities.
PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
In contrast to the typical condensed street frontage, the home was setback deep into the block, providing for an expansive front garden and rear outlook onto a freshwater creek. This provided an opportunity to successfully re-present an iconic modernist pavilion within a wet tropical setting, visible from the street as a distinct alternative and new suburban typology.
The process strives for innovation and new solutions to the problems of living with climate change in the 21st century. Integration of allied disciplines was critical to the successful delivery of the vision for the project, in particular the hydraulic and structural engineering which not only facilitated the advanced sustainability initiatives but also the practical requirements for withstanding annual cyclonic weather events.
The project budget was clearly defined at the outset, not to be exceeded. The project was delivered on time and on-budget through positive management of the functional requirements meeting with the architectural intent. Finishing trades were minimised where possible, in the spirit of the great modernist houses of the 20th Century: the house is intentionally raw yet elegant.
SITE
The lot is situated in the inner city suburb of Cairns, a few minutes away from Cairns Botanical Gardens and close to city centre amenities. The building area was flat and cleared of vegetation.
DESIGN
The main living areas and circulation zones are literally open, outdoor conditions under cover.
Functional ‘pods’ figure in plan to enclose bedrooms, bathrooms, a lounge / music room and an e-glazed office – all secure by way of sliding glass panels and individually air-conditioned.
A central dappled-light filled ‘internal’ courtyard features the swimming pool as a feature garden within the main living and dining spaces.
Open to the sky, this central garden provides a regular spectacle in tropical downpours as a ‘rain curtain’.
The office ‘pod’ features glazed walls that double as transparent bookshelves, conceptually as display case featuring a ‘field’ of bookends.
The client requested that the house be exemplar as best practice for universal access. Careful consideration was taken in the development of all details such that the entire house is independently accessible via wheelchair.
MATERIALS
Materials are all honestly expressed and the detailing and junction between surfaces is absolutely clean, requiring genuine attention to detail by the building contractor.
ENERGY
This way limiting the carbon footprint to be controlled by the residents on an ‘as needed’ operation basis.
The home is carbon neutral in operation. All energy is renewable, provided by the large 4.8 kWh photovoltaic and inverter array with feed-back to the power grid, off-setting the use of air-conditioning and LED lighting.
WATER AND WASTE
The entire roof area is harvested into a 45,000 litre in-ground water tank integrated with the hydraulic systems for user control over diversion between irrigation and other non-potable operations.
OWNERS/USERS STATEMENT
“The Glass House is a complex idea of exceptional execution. It melds program requirements for accessibility and sustainability with modern design principles in a challenging tropical environment. The experience of the house is simple and beautiful and belies the complexity of thought, design and construction that made it. It makes you ask yourself ‘How much house do we really need to live comfortably in the Tropics’?” Dr Shaneen Fantin
More information on the house can be found at:
http://architectureau.com/articles/-glass-house/
PROJECT TEAM
Base building architect/ designer: Charles Wright Architects
Structural engineer: G & A Consultants
Services Engineer: Gilboy Hydraulic Solutions
Builder: La Spina Homes
Photographs courtesy of Patrick Bingham Hall
Information and photos are supplied by the project owners and designers. The Tropical Green Building Network and James Cook University (the administrators) cannot guarantee the accuracy or authenticity of this content. Produced July 2014.
- James Cook University
- Bachelor of Advanced Science
- Bachelor of Arts
- Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences
- Bachelor of Business
- Bachelor of Business / Laws
- Bachelor of Business & Environmental Science
- Bachelor of Dental Surgery
- Bachelor of Early Childhood Education
- Bachelor of Primary Education
- Bachelor of Secondary Education
- Bachelor of Environmental Practice
- Bachelor of Geology
- Bachelor of Information Technology
- Bachelor of Laws
- Bachelor of Nursing Science (External)
- Bachelor of Midwifery
- Bachelor of Pharmacy
- Bachelor of Physiotherapy
- Bachelor of Planning
- Bachelor of Psychological Science
- Bachelor of Science
- Bachelor of Social Work
- Bachelor of Speech Pathology
- Bachelor of Sport & Exercise Science
- Bachelor of Veterinary Science
- Bachelor of Clinical Sciences (Honours)
- Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
- Bachelor of Engineering / Science (Honours) MBA in Tourism
- Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
- Master of Data Science
- Bachelor of Sports Psychology
- Bachelor of Marine Science
- Bachelor of Medicine / Surgery
- Bachelor of Nursing Science [Pre-Registration]
- Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science (Honours)
- Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours)
- Bachelor of Psychology
- Master of Conflict Management & Resolution
- Graduate Certificate of Conflict Management & Resolution
- Master of Global Development
- Master of International Tourism & Hospitality Management
- Bachelor of Technology and Innovation
- Bachelor of Science & Bachelor of Laws
- Diploma of Higher Education
- Diploma of Higher Education (Business)
- Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in Business Studies
- Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in Engineering and Applied Science
- Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in General Studies
- Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in Health
- Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in Information Technology
- Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in Science
- Diploma of Higher Education, Majoring in Society and Culture