Ocean Fire House: A performance-based solution to building in bushfire prone areas

‘ Ocean Fire House ’ is a bespoke work of sustainable residential architecture that resulted from technical and design-led applied research into the applicability of new performance-based provisions in Australia’s National Construction Code (NCC). The collaborative team led by Dr Ian Weir as the design/research architect included two teams of structural engineers (based in QLD and WA respectively), expert energy assessors and building certifiers. The 190m2 built work, has a cost of works of $1m and is located immediately adjacent an extremely fire prone forest reserve at Ocean Beach on the south coast of Western Australia. The key design innovation lies in the way the designed artifact synthesizes energy efficiency with bushfire safety. Features include high thermal mass bushfire-proof materials and renewable energy systems. The work provides an exemplar demonstration project into how the NCC’s performance-based provisions can be employed to address a problem of national significance: the sustainable development of homes in bushfire prone areas. Research Background Field: This research contributes to, and reinforces, the emerging field of ‘bushfire resilient design’, which has emanated from the broader fields of ‘resilient design’ and ‘sustainable design’ in the context of natural disasters. Built demonstration projects, like Ocean Fire House, are the most effective means of addressing the gaps in knowledge in this field. Context : The National Construction Code’s new emphasis (2017) on ‘performance-based design’ encourages innovation in building design but few architects or building designers have embraced this opportunity to integrate the otherwise disparate and high-cost requirements of energy efficiency and bushfire resilience. Unlike other countries with bushfire-prone landscapes, Australia is unique in that it’s regulatory framework supports innovation - thus further emphasizing Ocean Fire House's relevance to international contexts. Research Question : The architectural and building design professions are challenged by the technical and philosophical difficulties in reconciling sustainable, human-centred design with extreme bushfire-prone sites. The research questions are framed by key misunderstandings within these professions: that buildings do not have the technical capacity to protect human life in bushfires and if they did they would be either prohibitively expensive, or lacking in human amenity. Research Contribution. Innovation : The research tests the efficacy of the NCC’s performance-based provisions in realizing built works of architecture which are human-centred, environmentally sustainable and bushfire-resilient. The novelty lies in the way regulatory compliance was achieved, with energy efficiency and bushfire safety requirements synergized via renewable energy systems, fire-rated insulating walls, and site design. New Knowledge : Ocean Fire House produces new knowledge by demonstrating how a performance-based certification pathway can accommodate innovative, cost effective design solutions in bushfire prone landscapes, which hitherto were considered a constraint on innovation. Research Significance . Following invitations from the Australian Institute of Architects and the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors, Dr Weir presented 'Performance-based Approaches to Building in Bushfire Prone Areas' to institute members in March and July 2018 respectively. In September 2018, Dr Weir was again invited to present the research outcomes at the annual Australian Bushfire Building Conference. And on 18th July, Dr Weir was interviewed by Simon Lauder on ABC Radio (ABC South East NSW) wherein he broadcast his findings from the Ocean Fire House research project.