Product


LowE Plus with Clear for highest clarity and visible light transmittance – while also excellent Insulation performance (low U-Value).

Specification

  • Outer: Clear Toughened
  • Spacer: Warm Edge + Argon Gas
  • Inner: LowE Plus Toughened

Site Address

Preston, VIC 3072

Architect

Imogen Pullar Architecture

Landcape

McNuttnDorff Landscapes

Fabricator

Binq Windows

Builder

J & RC Builders

Photos courtesy of

Marnie Hawson

 

 

Challenge

The clients, a family of four, envisioned a bright, welcoming, and spacious home that embraced its pool and parkside location. After living in a small space for nine years, they desired areas for both gathering and individual pursuits—a place where “young and old gather for good times” and spontaneous gatherings could happen.

The project faced significant challenges:

  • Spatial Constraints: The existing pool’s large footprint left minimal backyard space, necessitating a design that maximised outdoor living without extensive demolition.
  • Structural Limitations: Previous renovations had compromised the home’s structural integrity, requiring new solutions for the insufficiently supported second storey.
  • Budget Considerations: With a limited budget that didn’t allow for a rebuild, the design needed to repurpose and enhance the existing structure.
  • Energy Efficiency and Comfort: The original house was leaky, cold, drafty, and dark, lacking energy efficiency and failing to capitalise on natural light, views, and ventilation.

 

Solution

Architect Pullar adopted a strategic and sensitive approach. “One of the most important things was to open up the back of the house to the garden and views of the park,” she explains. The design involved a modest rear 38-square-metre addition for living and dining and reconfiguring the ground floor to include a new main bedroom with robes and ensuite, main bathroom, laundry, kitchen, entry, and storage.

Pullar positioned living and dining areas to face north, capturing abundant natural light and park views. By removing a rear lean-to blocking the sky, she created an addition pitched toward the sky, inviting northern light into the rear living spaces.

To address the pool’s dominance, its size was reduced from 45 to 28 square metres. The new living area was built to the pool’s edge, featuring a long bench seat and large windows overlooking the water. “When the sun is shining, the ceiling of the living room lights up with the reflection of the sun on the pool, providing a lovely, calming moving light show,” notes Pullar.

A key component in achieving comfort and sustainability was the incorporation of AGG’s Insulglass LowE Plus® double glazing throughout the home. Using Binq Windows’ timber-framed Archetto and Azione suites—including fixed, awning, tilt-and-turn windows, and lift-and-slide doors—the design capitalised on high-performance glazing solutions.

“We used timber window frames for their thermal qualities and to match the home’s cladding. Timber is a far better insulator than aluminium,” Pullar emphasizes. The double-glazed windows, with warm-edge spacers and argon gas, significantly improved thermal performance.

The choice of window types was both functional and aesthetic. Tilt-and-turn windows flank a large, fixed window in the living area, facing the pool, but can be left tilted open without creating a safety risk. In the dining area, lift-and-slide doors provide an airtight, multi-locking solution that operates smoothly despite their size.

The resulting home exceeded the family’s aspirations. “One of the things I am most excited about is how well-proportioned the spaces are despite only adding 38 square metres to the house,” Pullar reflects. “We turned a leaky, cold, drafty, dark Edwardian house into a really light, bright, colourful, spacious home that you are happy to live in and share.”

AGG’s LowE Plus was key to the home’s thermal comfort and energy efficiency. The large, fixed window facing the pool, measuring 3.5 by 2.5 metres, showcases its capabilities – an immersive experience in thermal comfort.

Project Fabricator Binq Windows’ business philosophy is to customise solutions for each window system they manufacture. “How we engage with our clients and their projects is very important to us,” noted Andre Griffs, Cofounder of Binq Windows. “Whilst there is commonality across projects, there are certainly elements that are very personal to each one and so it is for us to understand that as best as possible, and in turn, apply our experience and expertise to help fulfill the vision. Combining the Archetto and Azione suites allowed us to meet the functional and aesthetic brief without compromising on thermal insulation.”

The Glint House demonstrates how strategic interventions, and high-performance materials can overcome significant challenges to create a sustainable, comfortable home connected to its surroundings. This home not only fulfills the family’s immediate needs but is poised to adapt to their future, embodying a space where “young and old gather for good times”—a celebration of architectural innovation and sustainable living.

For more information on Insulglass LowE Plus®, click below:

 

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