Beela

A new home that cultivates comfort and a sense of sanctuary

Designed with passive solar design principles in mind, Beela is a new home that encompasses the spirit of “less but better”. The home is modestly sized, but provides for all the owners needs; places to relax, places to entertain, places to retreat to, a compact home office and library/reading room that can double as a guest bedroom. Multiple courtyards and outdoor spaces allow the outdoors to be enjoyed in a variety of weather conditions and never more than a few steps from anywhere within the houses interiors; there is a covered alfresco, sheltered courtyards, productive garden beds, sunny spots to be enjoyed in Winter and shady spaces that provide cooler relief in the height of Summer.

The materials used throughout the house are a mix of raw and warm materials. Honed concrete blocks and a burnished slab provide thermal mass that absorb the heat out of the air in summer whilst storing and releasing heat during winter. Hardwood rosewood windows and blackbutt exposed beams add warm, character and texture. Windows are positioned to suit the path of the sun in Winter, allowing it deep into the house to warm the space, whilst strategically positioned eaves keep the sun out during Summer, meaning the house remains a comfortable temperature year-round without the need for air conditioning.

The gardens were designed to be predominantly native, each area with its own slightly unique character. Toby at Exterior Architecture was given a detailed brief for the landscape design that captured both the clients and the architects wish list and the result is striking in its ingenuity. The front yard is given over in it’s entirety to plants with no lawn requiring regular upkeep, rather the garden is left to be a little wild with a winding path to the front door, bird attracting plant species and several trees that over time will grow to provide a large canopy cover.

Beela is an expression of years of designing with passive design principles, incorporated into the home’s design. For an architect; things like building orientation, sun control, thermal mass, etc are tools available for use; but for the client, these invisible tools translate into a home that just feels more comfortable, more nurturing, more pleasing than any other space they’ve lived in.

Completed:
2025

Builder:
Buildup Constructions

Landscape Design:
Exterior Architecture

Photography:
Luke Butterly