“Bling Box” home leads energy efficiency in Western Australia

A family of three from Western Australia (WA) has slashed prices on their energy bill with their energy efficient dream home.

The Lim family has set a precedence on how residential architecture can showcase both impressive minimalism design features and energy-saving thermal performance in their 217 square metre home nicknamed as the “Bling Box” for its boxy looking exterior.

The family home located in Ardross, WA, incorporates eco-friendly Bondor products that are paving the way to reduce Australia’s carbon footprint in residential buildings which currently account for 10% of Australia’s total carbon emissions.

Director of Tulloch Construction, Mr Andrew Tulloch collaborated with the Lim family to create a family home with a focus on innovative clutter-free spaces that preserved a compact footprint.

“It is always an exciting opportunity to be involved in projects that are moving the building industry forward in the way of environmentally sustainable practices,” he said.

“We worked closely with the Lim family who placed an importance on creating a space that incorporated materials that demonstrate both space and energy efficiency. Sourcing products with energy efficient functions was therefore vital and incorporating Bondor products to create this well-insulated home significantly contributed to the home energy rating.”

The space efficient family home combines Bondor’s Equitilt® wall panelling and SolarSpan® roof sheeting, that demonstrate high thermal performance that exceeds the Building Code of Australia’s current six-star thermal efficiency requirement.

Homeowners across the country are recognising the significance of constructing insulated homes where a well-insulated roof can save the average Australian family 45% on heating and cooling and a further 20% can be saved with wall insulation.

Installing residential insulation is a simple solution that can drastically reduce the $47 billion figure that Australian households are currently spending on energy, an amount that rivals manufacturing industries.

The Lim family recognised the financial benefits available when selecting Bondor walling and roofing products for their new family home but were surprised by the speed of construction.

Bondor’s Equitilt® wall panelling is a lightweight material that combines prefinished COLORBOND® steel with high performing installation. Allowing for a smoother workflow, which allowed for fast-tracked construction time of their dream home.

“By using Bondor products, we were able to move into our new home just eight months after the start of construction. This was especially important for our family as we have a 20 month old child,” said homeowner Bernard Lim.

Bondor General Manager Geoff Marsdon said the Lim family home showcases what Bondor products can offer in terms of improving residential energy and cost efficiency.

“Bondor is committed to creating products that exceed the building industry and consumer requirements for energy efficient and space saving materials that are fast and easy to construct,” said Mr Marsdon.

“The installation of Bondor products in the Lim family home has allowed the family to live
in a cool and comfortable environment, knowing they are doing their part to reduce Australia’s carbon footprint.”

The two-storey 217 square metre home features excellent access to natural light, open-planned living, dining and kitchen areas, four bedrooms, three bathrooms and two activity zones.

For further information on Tulloch Construction, visit www.tullcon.com.

Bondor’s Equitilt Featured in New National Cricket Centre

Bondor Equitilt©architectural panels feature prominently on the newly revealed $29 million National Cricket Centre at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane’s Albion.

TVS Architects chose to showcase Bondor’s Equitilt© in the impressive multi-storey design, to meet the brief for a lightweight cladding system with benefits including low maintenance, durability, high insulation value and cost-efficiency with the required fire ratings.

TVS Architects director Michael Kisluk explained that Equitilt© was selected as it ticked all the boxes in their requirements list for a lightweight cladding system, adding that they would definitely use it again.

Cost reduction was a key objective during the construction of the building, with Bondor Equitilt© playing its part by helping to reduce the amount of framing required. Since the architectural panels are finished on both sides, there is no need to line the inside face.

In addition to offering a wide range of colours, Equitilt© also delivers high thermal efficiency to reduce the running costs for the life of the building.

Bondor General Manager Geoff Marsdon said the National Cricket Centre utilised Australian-made Equitilt© panels in both Flameguard© and Bondor options, in three different external colours: Bushland, Surfmist and the custom shade Mandarin.

The interior of the Centre featured the colour Surfmist to effectively blend with the off-white interior finish. Bondor panels were also utilised for the sun blades on the building.

The self-supporting Bondor insulated panels feature an expanded polystyrene (EPS-FR) core between two layers of Colorbond© steel, providing structural and thermal efficiency combined with a durable and attractive finish.

These architectural walling panels also offer versatility of design, insulation ability and efficiency of installation.

According to Mr Marsdon, the sandwich panel construction delivers high structural stability to the wall, and 25 times more thermal efficiency than pre-cast concrete of the same thickness; the lightweight design additionally reduces load bearing footings and structural supports.

Equitilt© architectural panels come in 50mm to 150mm thicknesses. Standard colours include Surfmist, Classic Cream, Pale Eucalypt and Paperbark; non-standard colours include Axis, Citi, Facade and Skybridge; and finishes include Shadowline, Satinline and Series 600.

The National Cricket Centre was a joint project of the Federal Government, the Queensland Government, Brisbane City Council, Cricket Australia, Queensland Cricket, project managers Johnstaff and builders Watpac.