Further research of Lambert House:

A HOUSE AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL FILTER:

SHADING DEVICES:
Angled awnings improve the climatic performance of the house by cleverly protecting against the sun at various elevations (See Figure 1).

Figure 1: Shading System http://espace.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:12953u/view/UQ:12953u/view/UQ:12953u/view/UQ:12953

WEATHER PROTECTION:
As the walls are only a single layer of timber the heat can escape the house quickly whilst the external metal frame over the timber protects against excessive rain.

VENTILATION:
Voids between the upper three floors allow for through ventilation. When hot air reaches the top of the building, it can escape through a rotary ventilator.

VIEWS: Because of its height, the building allows for views to Brisbane city and surrounding bushland (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Views over the surrounding bushland from inside

http://espace.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:12978/UQ:12978

VEGETATION: Hall designed the house for his sister who "asked for him to design a house which took up as little space as possible, leaving the garden as a sanctuary for various wildlife (Our House, 2007). Hall responded to this by making the building go 'up rather than out'.

TOPOGRAPHY: The building responds well to the steep slope of the site by having an extra level below the level of entry (see Figure 3)

Figure 3: The slope of the site

http://espace.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:12954

A HOUSE AS A CONTAINER OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES:
LAYOUT OF SPACES:
Each level of the house consists of a different activity. The ground floor is a guest level with a laundry. The second floor (the entry level) is a kitchen and dining room, third is the living room, fourth is the master bedroom and the highest level is an office and sewing room.

CIRCULATION: Air flow occurs vertically via stairs. Hall says about Brisbane's height restrictions and therefore low design creates "bad climate design, increase excavation and fill-dumping & increase cost" (Hall, 2003). Therefore circulation is not the only benefit of building high.

ZONING OF ACTIVITIES: Each floor is dedicated to an activity/zone. These zones move from the more public on the bottom floors to the more private on the top floors.

A HOUSE IS A DELIGHTFUL EXPERIENCE:

EXPRESSION:
Hall has made use of embellishments and decorations in the house (see Figure 4) as “he believes that embellishments and decoration provide vital expressions for humans” (Jahn, 1994, p. 213)

Figure 4: Stained glass windows and decorative timber panelling

http://espace.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:12971

COLOUR:
Colour enters the space throught the many stained glass windows. Jahn (1994, p. 217) says the “fluid filled prisms at the apex of the tower roof send refracted coloured light into the internal spaces of the house and outwards across the suburb". In the absence of natural light, the walls also many artworks.

FORM:
Riddel (2005, p. 17) says that the form of the house "is made up of 2 intersecting towers, with plan forms of disparate shape".

REFERENCES:

Hall, R. (2003). Russell Hall for Lord Mayor. Retrieved March 19, 2010, from http://www.russellhallarchitects.com.au/archives/2004_03.html

Jahn, G. (1994). Contemporary Australian Architecture. Australia: Craftsman House.

Our House. (2007). Tower House. Retrieved March 19, 2010, from http://ourhouse.ninemsn.com.au/ourhouse/factsheets/db/openhouse/02/257.asp.

Riddel, R. (2005). Significant Queensland 20th century architecture. Retrieved March 19, 2010, from www.architecture.com.au/i-cms_file?page=3506/20C_arch.