Products
Insulglass LowE Plus with Clear for highest clarity and visible light transmittance – with excellent Insulation performance (low U-Value).
Specification
- Outer: 4 & 6mm Clear Toughened
- Spacer: Argon Gas
- Inner: 4 & 6mm LowE Plus Toughened
Site Address
Yowie bay, NSW 2228
Architect
Fabricator
Photos courtesy of
Challenge
Situated in the southern Sydney coastal suburb of Yowie Bay, the design brief for this 350 square metre home required quality, high performance glazing with excellent light transmission, while minimising solar heat gain. The client envisioned a dwelling that optimises expansive parkland and district views while ensuring maximum energy efficiency and a contemporary aesthetic.
The need for daylight to flood the interior without overheating the house in summer or losing valuable energy in winter posed a significant challenge. Additionally, the owners had safety at the forefront of their minds – they wanted to observe their children in the pool from inside, demanding expansive glass panelling. High performance glazing helped marry these multifaceted requirements into a cohesive, functional, stylish design.
Solution
In response to the client’s needs and the site’s potential, the design manifests as an expert blend of contemporary aesthetics and passive design principles.
The architect specified AGG Insulglass LowE Plus® Clear double glazing to maximise visual light transmittance and solar heat gain to passively warm the interior in cooler months. AGG’s LowE Plus is a soft coat glass makeup, rather than a regular hardcoat, so providing maximum thermal performance, clarity, and light transmittance.
All windows and doors were superbly manufactured by Ryan Murphy, at Shear Glass and Aluminium in Kirrawee, NSW. Sliding corner doors open to provide seamless indoor and outdoor living with flush floor levels. One of the standout features of this residence is its high clerestory windows. Strategically placed, these windows invite morning and afternoon light into the home.
They light up the interior spaces without admitting the summer heat, ensuring the house remains luminous and airy. Moreover, double glazing augments these windows’ performance, acting as a buffer to external temperature fluctuations. The result is a stabilised, ambient internal environment. This reduces the reliance on artificial climate control and ensures that when the air-conditioning operates in the summer and the floor heating in winter, the energy is utilised with maximum efficiency.
The upper floor takes the passive design a notch higher with motorised casement windows. These are designed to harness the mild summer northerly breeze, optimising natural ventilation. Such a design decision aligns with the home’s synergy with its environment. It’s not just about looking out at nature; it’s about letting nature in, allowing it to play an active role in the home’s comfort.
Safety, particularly for the family’s younger members, has been integrated seamlessly into the design. An expanse of doubled-glazed panes stretches across the rear of the house, providing an unobstructed view of the outdoor play, garden, and pool area from the kitchen. This visibility provides a pivotal safety feature, allowing constant supervision, and aesthetically, it further enhances the connection between the interior spaces and the outdoors.
Quality, locally supplied window systems manufactured by Shear Glass and Aluminium, featuring high performance IGU’s manufactured by AGG, has ensured this Yowie Bay residence provides optimal comfort, environmental connection, safety and sustainability.
“Our team were extremely proud to have worked on the project,” said Ryan. “The homeowner and architect had the foresight, and had researched the many benefits and improved comfort to be enjoyed when choosing quality window and glazing systems. It’s a win, win.”
For more information on Insulglass LowE Plus®, click below: