Point House demonstrates how modest scale and sustainable design can coexist to create a generous and uplifting urban home. Designed by Guy Tarrant Architects as a courtyard residence, the project is organised around a central, double-height outdoor room that mediates light, privacy, and climate. Its compact footprint and spatial economy offer a model for efficient living in dense urban contexts, showing that quality of space can outweigh quantity.
Design and spatial organisation
The house is arranged as a sequence of interconnected volumes defined by controlled transparency and enclosure. A detached garage-studio anchors the front of the site, forming a visual and acoustic buffer to the street while enclosing the courtyard garden behind. This courtyard acts as the heart of the home, functioning as a light well, social space, and microclimatic device that brings daylight and ventilation into all primary rooms.
The main living areas are oriented around this courtyard, their edges softened by deep window reveals, sliding glass doors, and timber screens. The double-height outdoor room acts as both a visual extension of the interior and a passive environmental regulator. Openings are aligned to promote cross-ventilation and seasonal adaptability, reducing reliance on mechanical heating and cooling.
Material strategy
Material selection was guided by simplicity, durability, and environmental performance. The structure combines cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor plates with insulated light-gauge steel framing, reducing embodied carbon while ensuring precision in construction. External walls are clad in fibre cement panels finished in a low-VOC mineral coating for longevity and minimal maintenance.
The interior palette includes polished concrete floors, birch plywood cabinetry, and oak stair treads, providing tactile warmth balanced with durability. Windows and glazed openings use thermally broken aluminium frames with low-E glazing, optimising thermal efficiency and daylight.
Sustainability and performance
Passive environmental control underpins the building’s sustainability strategy. The courtyard brings natural light into every primary space, reducing demand for artificial lighting by more than 50 percent. Deep eaves, operable timber louvres, and the east–west orientation mitigate solar gain, while high-performance glazing helps maintain stable interior temperatures.
A split heat pump system and a heat recovery ventilation (HRV) unit ensure efficient year-round comfort. Roof-mounted solar panels provide renewable electricity and rainwater is collected in a 5,000-litre tank for irrigation and toilet flushing.
Low-flow fixtures and LED lighting reduce operational energy and water use, while locally sourced materials and prefabricated elements minimise transport emissions and on-site waste.
