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- Baahouse Hinterland Home, Gold Coast
The Challenge
Claus Ejlertsen from Baahouse Architecture specialises in innovative residential design, particularly in creating efficient and luxurious small-scale living spaces.
When Claus was approached to design a compact retirement home for a family downsizing to their children’s Gold Coast hinterland property, he knew he had to ‘get creative’ with council parameters.
The clients—who originally lived near Gympie wanted a smaller dwelling designed to be a future-proof property where they could comfortably live as they got older.
Working within a tight 60m2 footprint, 20% smaller than a typical free-standing Australian house, Claus’s challenge was to work with this limited space to create a comfortable retirement home that didn’t feel cramped.
The local council parameters were strict, so he need to strategically expand the perceived space through clever architectural design to create an expansive, light-filled living environment that felt much larger than its compact footprint.
Bondor’s SolarSpan® insulated, long spanning roof panels gave Claus the flexibility and aesthetic appeal to create a home that perfectly met his clients’ needs.
The Solution
Claus tackled the project’s restricted footprint by thinking beyond traditional design. He maximised space through high raked ceilings, eliminating hallways, and creating an open-plan layout that seamlessly connected indoor and outdoor areas.
Claus effectively doubled the size of the home by connecting an additional 40-50m2 outdoor deck to main home. This deck area was excluded from the council’s internal measurement, allowing for significant extra living space.
He also created an additional rear deck and multi-purpose utility and laundry space, which effectively pushed the total usable area to around 100m2.
Claus emphasised the importance of the indoor-outdoor connection being crucial to the home’s design.
“With the subtropical Brisbane climate, it’s really important that we live outside, enjoy that outside deck space, and give that indoor, outdoor connection between the two spaces that we’re working with,” he said.
“That really makes a small house feel like a big, large, open, family home.”
The inclusion of high raked ceilings and open plan design also contributed to making the modest space feel much larger and more expansive.
By using Bondor’s SolarSpan® roofing system, he streamlined construction and created a light-filled, airy interior.
“Bondor is a fantastic product. It has a self-clipping together modular system that comes in long spans. For this project, we got six metres from one beam to the other beam.
“It’s also quick and easy to install. Within that roof system, you’ve got the lining so you don’t have to paint underneath, the insulation, and the top of the roof, all in one panel.
“The same day the electrician comes in, he does the lighting installation, and literally, within a day, you have a whole roof installed.”
Through innovative design, seamless indoor-outdoor connections, and strategic use of natural light, Claus transformed what could have been standard granny flat into a luxury escape for his clients’ retirement years.
Manufactured in Australia by Bondor, SolarSpan® is Australia’s leading all-in-one insulated roofing panel offering long-spans, low pitch and high thermal efficiency.
