house profile regional victoria house profile regional victoria

Reborn
from
Fire
Rebuilding after the devastating Victorian
2009 bushfires, Chris Clarke created a
smaller, greener home – an extraordinary
home born from its impassioned history

Words Sasha Shtargot

Photography rhiannon slatter

G
Around 130 tonnes of rock
from the local quarry were
used in the landscaping of
the home to provide an
alternative to timber decks
(which can be burnt).

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house profile regional victoria house profile regional victoria

The concrete slab and the

It’s an old cliché to describe life regenerated out of
shattered dreams as a “phoenix rising from ashes”. Yet for Chris Clarke
the phrase has a starkly literal meaning. From the remains of twisted
metal, glass and concrete that was once his home has come an inspiring
symbol of regrowth after the devastation of bushfire.
Chris, a designer and builder, had stewed for 10 years on the concept
for his original house, carefully choosing a five-acre site in Callignee in
Victoria’s east that to him was “heaven”. It was an untouched elevated
plot amid eucalypts in a quiet valley. The idea was for a striking,
three-bedroom house of mainly timber and glass that payed homage to
its idyllic surrounds. It took two years to build. Six days after it was
finished in February 2009, the Black Saturday bushfires swept through
the area, leaving the home a mess of rubble.
Thankfully he was not there. All that was left of Callignee 1, which is
what he now calls this original home, was a brick wall, concrete slab, steel
frame, some panes of glass and a jumble of timber, concrete and steel. Yet
somehow the wreck inspired Chris to rebuild with new vigour. “The steel
frame stood there in its glory. It just stood there in that strength, and I
wanted to work with that,” he says.
As well as the pressing need to construct a fire-proof home in an area
of extreme risk, Chris was determined to make sustainability and
non-toxicity key drivers in the design of this new home. After nine
months of building and an expenditure of $450,000 the result is
Callignee 2, a dramatic and highly conceptual statement in weathered,
rusty hues that blends with the resilient and regrowing landscape. Its
compelling story made it the first house profiled in Grand Designs
Australia on the Lifestyle Channel.
concrete and steel kitchen
bench survived the inferno
that destroyed the original
home, Callignee 1. The
imperfections, brought on by
the heat of the fire, were
embraced during the
reburnishing and repolishing
Callignee 2 is a two-storey construction, but a scaled-down version of process, lending the home its
unique aesthetic. Cooking
the original with only one main bedroom. Its bronzed look is the result of appliances in the home are
Cor-Ten weathering steel which clads the house inside and out. Locally run by gas, the only fossil fuel
used in the home.
quarried rocks, grass trees and black bamboo line the path to the front
door. Unusually, the front door opens into the master bedroom but
separated by a Japanese screen. The old office became the new bedroom.
There is an ensuite with stone basin and shower surrounded with glass,
including louvres to let steam out.
The passage leads to a large kitchen space (“the heart of the house”,
as Chris describes it) with concrete and steel island bench, dining area
and window opening out to a lap pool. At the end of the kitchen there is a
free-standing fireplace. Polished, hydronically heated concrete floors
lead down to a living area framed by a large glass panel that forms one
side of the pool. Timber stairs lead to a loft bedroom on see-through
mesh floor and north-facing study with Sisal carpet. Much of the roof
space is devoted to gardens of grass trees and native grasses.
Chris has tried to keep the embodied energy of Callignee 2 low,
re-using and recycling as much from the first house as he could. The
kitchen bench and stairs, two of the features from Callignee 1, still bear
the marks of the searing fire. Double-glazed glass panels from the
original home are reborn in the new. Reinforcing the home’s image of
durability, cast-off eucalypt hardwood from Melbourne’s Princes Pier
forms the ceiling of the master bedroom, the dining table, bathroom
vanity unit and some of the flooring.
One of the novel aspects of Callignee 2 is the abandonment of many
of the most conventional aspects of modern homes. There is no trace of
plasterboard, no architraves or skirting, and no tiles. “I wanted smooth,

As well as the pressing need

to construct a fire-proof home
in an area of extreme risk,
Chris was determined to make
D D sustainability and non-toxicity
Taken shortly after the fires Callignee 1 was reduced to
of February 2009. Photo by little more than rubble. key drivers in the design of this
Chris Clarke Photo by Chris Clarke
new home.
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house profile regional victoria
D D
The mezzanine bedroom and
study with Sisal flooring and
Princes Pier brushbox timbers
throughout. Chris wanted to
keep the house “free and
open” so the upstairs
bedroom is open plan with
metal grate flooring to see
through to the room below.
Internal blinds shade the
northern glazing over the
study.
It was profoundly important
for Chris’s healing process to
rebuild: “The home has a bush
casual ambiance, comfortable
in its new skin – a skin with soul
and a very real heritage now.”
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clean lines,” Chris says. But perhaps the most
important absentees are the ones that make
many houses toxic – no VOCs (volatile organic
compounds) were used in the joinery, and the
house is free of paint.
Chris had suffered chronic fatigue for six
years, a condition brought on by travelling in
remote South America and not helped by a
hectic, corporate-driven lifestyle. Non-toxicity
became a pillar of his recovery process after
spending time at a health centre in Mexico.
Sean Hamilton, a designer who
collaborated on the project, describes it as a
“very special home”. Sean says it was
profoundly important for Chris’s healing
process to rebuild: “The home has a bush
casual ambiance, comfortable in its new skin
– a skin with soul and a very real heritage now.”
Concrete water tanks on site have a
capacity of 80,000 litres. In further keeping
with the philosophy of sustainability, the waste
from the house goes into a blackwater system
sunk into the earth.
Remarkably after the destruction of Black
The stairs from the original
home survived the
devastating fires of February
2009, with only the bottom G
and top treads needing Chris opted for a mineral
Saturday, Chris has no fear about future replacement. swimming pool over salt or
bushfires. The house’s frame is covered with chlorination. Water from the
pool can be used on the
Firefly, a fire-proof material designed to
garden and the magnesium
withstand extreme conditions. He is confident and potassium are said to
help reduce stress, aches and
Callignee 2 will not suffer the fate of its pains.
predecessor, despite the home being in Flame
Zone (BAL-FZ), the highest category on the
Victorian Bushfire Attack Level of risk.
“There’s nothing here to burn,” he says,
referring to the prominence of Cor-Ten steel
and glass.
[Ed note, as noted this house falls into the
BAL-FZ category, the highest bushfire attack
level under the Australian Standard for
building in bushfire-prone areas. If you are
looking to build on a rural property your home
must be assessed to find out its BAL rating
and you must ensure the materials and
construction methods used meet the BAL level
L
of your site. Contact your local council and This bathroom is a radical
departure from standard
the Building Commission
homes without any tiling
(www.buildingcommission.com.au) for whatsoever. A concrete slab
more information.] floor and Princes Pier
reclaimed timbers are used
for the vanity and wall panels.
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Callignee Residence
L
The master bedroom with
reclaimed wharf timbers
making up the bed head and
the ceiling of the bedroom.
This is a home with no tiling,
plasterboard, skirting boards
or paints – the ultimate in
durability and low
maintenance. Designer Sustainable Features Other ESD features
Chris Clarke & Sean Hamilton Renewable Energy – Black and grey water treatment system
— East Coast Green Energy solar system (0429 795 570) – Passive fire protection lining in the roof by TBA
Website [Ed note: Chris recently installed a 16kW solar system Textiles Firefly www.tbafirefly.com.au
www.swale.com.au for the home, upgrading from the smaller system Firefly Plus 60 is a 10mm thick glass based composite
www.hamiltondesign.com.au originally installed. While acknowledging that this fire barrier material that can be used in vertical or
— system is much larger than a system conventionally horizontal installations (ie, roof or walls). It has been
Builder installed for residential purposes, Chris wanted to tested to provide at least 60 minutes of integrity and
owner builder, ensure that he could rely on solar throughout the 30 minutes of insulation when installed correctly.
SWALE Developments winter months, without needing to use his backup Use of materials such as firefly barriers can be the
— generator. He also wanted to ensure the system difference between a house surviving relatively
Project type performs year-round - despite the heavily treed site - undamaged or burning to the ground in a bushfire.
New building to ensure his pool can be heated as needed. Our
— technical editor recommends solar hot water systems Sustainable PRODUCTS
Project location utilising evacuated tubes or flat plate technology as a Cor-ten
Callignee, VIC more efficient way of heating water than photovoltaic Cor-Ten steel supplied by Bluescope Steel
— panels.] www.bluescopedistribution.com.au
Cost Cor-Ten or weathering steel was used for internal
$450,000 [Ed note: Please note Water saving and external surfaces as a replacement for traditional
this figure was achieved due 80,000L rainwater storage in tank on roof building products such as cement sheeting and
to Chris’ extensive building plasterboard. The weathering steels react with oxygen
industry experience. He co- Active heating & cooling to produce a very dense rust oxide layer, which inhibits
Ground Floor Plan
1 Living
designed, project managed, Hydronic floor heating fuelled by the Benson further corrosion into the material – it actually
2 Dining worked on-site, and sourced his heat pump becomes more resistant to corrosion over time.
3 Lap Pool
4 Kitchen
own materials at trade rates.] After an initial two to three weeks in which Chris had
5 Laundry — Windows & glazing to “water” the panels daily to encourage them to rust,
6 Bathroom
7 Bedroom 3 Size – Sunergy louvre windows with ironbark frames they now require no maintenance. After weathering the
8 Carport house 170 sqm; land 5 acres throughout from Mountain Timber Products panels in, Chris coated the lower panels with a
9 Main entrance
7
www.mountaintimberproducts.com.au water-based urethane to ensure the rust doesn’t rub off
5 6 – The glazing throughout the house is Viridian’s when you’re walking past.
4 Sunergy IGUs argon filled Evantage low e/ Metal panels such as Cor-Ten have high thermal
9
1 8 argon/low e with a U-Value of 1.3 absorption and thermal conductivity, which means on
2
www.viridianglass.com a hot summer’s day they heat up fast and pass the heat
through them into the house. To mitigate this problem,
Lighting Cor-Ten cladding should be well insulated and an air
Lights throughout the house supplied by barrier added between the steel and fixing surface to
Mance Design www.mance.com.au reduce heat transfer.

Building materials
FIRST Floor Plan
10 Deck – Kitchen joinery by Broadbent Cabinets (03) 5134
11 Study 3666; brocab@bigpond.net.au
12 Void over living room below
13 Bedroom 15 – Timbers throughout the house supplied by Dahlsens
14 Rainwater tank 10 www.dahlsens.com.au
15 Roof Garden
11 – Jarrah or Ironbark timber reclaimed from Princes
Pier Melbourne. Supplied by Timbersearch
www.timbersearch.com.au
12
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