Project The 'Small Houses' Series LITTLE BIG
Architect Poole Design HOUSE
Design Team Gabriel Poole
Builder Houses by Hand (Dominic Hand)
Gabriel Poole's latest
foray into the slippery
slope of project
housing comes with a
caveat - build it to a
standard, or not at all.
"Quality control," says
Poole, "is (almost)
everything."
Dubbed the 'Small
Houses' series,
Poole's fascination
with pre-fabricated,
steel-clad kit designs
is one challenge to
the 'scourge of tract
housing'. Flexible
and climatically
responsive, his latest
project is the big idea
ready to truck or train
anywhere in Australia.
~
EventhoughGabrielPoole
prefersto distancehimselffrom
mainstream architecture-
"expensive to the pointof being
irrelevantfor mostpeople",
he clearlycan'tescapethe
gravitationalpull as oneof
the profession's luminaries.
It followsfromhis combination
of experience, capacityanda
'trophy'cabinetjammedwith
awardsthat includea RobinBoyd
andthe RAIA's1998GoldMedal.
There'snot muchaboutPoole
that fits the tired literaryor film
stereotypeof the architectas
a cashmere-clad poseur.His
background as a farmhandand
builderprovideda grounding
simplyunavailable,or of little
interest,to mostof the
prestigioushighereducational
institutions.Yet it is this
tougheningup processthat
underscoreshis creativity.
about
Everything themanisthatbit
unconventional.Nothingfits with
thestereotypeof thearchitect.
Andhelikesit thisway.There's no
coolArmaniedge,andhissailor's
capdoesn'tcomeoff underany
circumstances. Unlessit'sliftedin Poole'scommitmentto the
analmightygale.orjustbefore SunshineCoasthasbeen
retiringto bed.Eventhen,one unshakeablesincesetting
suspects, Elizabeth
Poole. up basethere in 1969.
At 68 yearsof age,he hasseen
the cyclesof fad andfashion
comeandgo, yet he has
retaineda focusthat has
resultedin a stringof original
designs.His recentlylaunched
seriesof 'takeaway'housing
onlystrengthensa namealigned
with innovation.
Hisoutputis as prolific
as ever,with literallyhundreds,
if not morethana thousand,
projectssprinkledaroundthe

Poole's 'Small Houses"are
anythingbut dwarfed in their
scope and finishes.Aexible
sizesand modularnature
permitstailoreddesigns
to client specifications.
'The beautyabout this
house,' says Poole,"is.that
if you build like this and have
anotherchild,you simply
puild 00 and when they grow
up and move, you put the
bedroomon their back and
they take it away with them."
'Coastconnecting,often
poetically,with the environment.
His own house,at Eumundi
(TentHouse)was a Boydwinner
in 1991,for instance,andhis
lake WeybaHouse,although
neverenteredin the RAIA
awards,is widely regardedas
oneof the besthousesnever
to collecta Boyd.
Otherprojectsincludedthe
technicallycomplex.but
practicallysimpleQuadropod
systemthat createda new
generationof spiderysteel
platformsthat elevatedhis
designsto new heights.More
recentlyhis Capricorn151series
of steelframedandclad 'kit
homes'investigatedmarket
possibilitiesfor environmentally
friendlyprojecthousing.
With his practiceof 10staff
workin(lunobtrusivelyfrom a
Noosabusiness
estate,demand
is booming.Hecouldprobably
double,or treble,staff levels
andturnover,but prefershis
architecture
to remainmanageable
andfocused.Running'flat to the
boards',he haslittle interestin
growingbusinessto the point
whereit operateson remote
controlandhe losestouchwith
peopleotherthanhis accountant.
His somewhatoddly-named
SmallHousesseries(theycan
be expandedto almostany size)
~ Qualitycontrol of projecthousing-
is a fightbackagainstthe brick
veneersthat are crowding
estatesin everydirection.
He hopeshis steelframedand
cladprojecthomeswill help
alter perceptionsabout
affordablearchitect-designed
housing.Thedesignseries
offersan almostinfinite
configurationof linkedmodules
dependingon site, needand
budge~.
TheDomHouse.for
instance.hasfour ~edrooms.
"Consumer demand,"saysPoole,
"createdthe project.People
keepringingupfor alternative
andaffordablehousingsowe
produced the newrange.
Thishouse(forbuilderDominic
Hand)becamethe 'Dom'house
andis probablybettersuitedto
a largerthanstandard-size
block,
Smallerlandmightrequirea
courtyardversionof this house."
Pooledislikesreferences
to 'kit'
housing- is a key.Hehasseen
manyexamples
of opportlinitylost
bypoorfinishes,missingparts
anddumbingdownof the original.
"We're emphaticaboutthis. We
are not preparedto givepeople
plansandhavethemdisappear to
somepartof Australia.We know
what happenswith builders;the
first thing they say is 'Youdon't
needthosebloodygutters,we can
ripthoseoff andyoudon'tneed
that stupidridgebeam,it should
comeoff...' andbythe time it's
finishedit's got my nameon it
but it doesn'tlooklike anythingI
wouldhavedone,"Poolegroans.
Assembled intoa kit of partsin
Brisbane. the seriescanbe easily
andeconomically transported to
site andboltedtogether."Even
the cabinetworkwill be included
so in that V\'aywe cancontrol
qualityandensureits integrity.
"Theotherissueto remember
is white ants," Pooleexplains.
"Theseare a real problem
acrossmuchof Australia.
Unfortunatelythe poisonsare
simplynot as effectiveas they
oncewere.With a steel house
you havea muchbetterchance
of havinga housein 20 years.
"Thehousedesignis just a very
simpleprinciple.Thelayoutworks,
theventilation
vvorks andwe'vejust
concentratedon simplificationto
achievecleanlines.In this house
we'veconcentrated on it being
easyto assemble byusinga simple
truss_roofandpre-nailed wall
frames.Yetfor all t~is simplicityit
feelssolidandit will standanything
whiteantscanthrowitsway.
Features
includea steeppitch
roofwhichallowsfor cathedral
ceilingsusingprefabricated The house consists of three
scissortrusses.Theroofis clad separate, yet connected,
in ZINCALUME~
steelin LYSAGHT pre-fabricated modules and
CUSTOM
ORB~
profileand a red-walled garage.
featuresin-builtguttersanda
(below) A steep pitch roof
foldedsteelbargeroll.Roof
produces cathedral ceilings
guttersarescreened
by a fine
while externally in-built gutters
metalgauzethat resistsleafand
and a folded steel barge roll
debris.TheDomHouseis alsothe
result in a crisp roofline.
first of the SmallHousesseries
to usewall claddingmadefrom
COLOR80ND~
steelin the colour
GullGrey,ro)lformed
in Stramit's
MINIRIB~profileto createa
distinctivedifferencefrom the
moretraditionalcorrugated
profile.Raisedflooringutilises
the principlesof the traditional
Queenslander
to improve
ventilationandcooling.
Irchitecturaj
steelinnovationwithBHPSteelLimitednumber82, march2003

Poole is savage on the spread
of typical tract housing glued
to the ground. "The brick box is
too cheap. They're building one
across the road from our house
Flexible, versatile space! and I don't know how people live
are achieved through in these. They put one window in
sliding walls to partition a bedroom and that's how they
or open for privacy makethem cheap.They're just not
and breezes. liveable.Eventuallyyou haveto put
air-conditioningin andit'scrazythat
we should be designing houses in
this day and age that requirethat."
Pooleholds largelyresponsible
thecommercialbaronswholivefar
awayfromtheseestates."Vou get
about500housesto the acreand
the roofguttersjust abouttouch.
It's not aboutwhetherit's right or
not.Peopledon'tgivea stuffabout
whetherit makesa betterlife or
environment.
It'sall aboutmoney.
That'sourdownfall,"heopines.
He prefersto see his Small Houses
seriesas makinga differer1:eto the
lives of their ovvnersvvhocan find
reposeand privacyon a deck,or in
a breezeway."The principles that
drivethis houseare ventilationand
spaceutilisation.If you want to find
out just how efficient the venting
systemis, stand in front of the roof
vents... advises Poole, "and just
experiencethe rush of hot air."
Thefoldedridgecapof the roof
lineis openedandscreened at
bothendsfor greaterairflow.
Poolealsorecommends the use
of solarroofexhaustfansto assist
ventilationinsteadof relyingon
ceilingfansto cirFulateheatedair.
"Thefearthatsteelcladhouses
are
'hot boxes'is totally unfounded,"
saysPoole."It isn'ta hot house-
for nootherreasonthanit'swell
ventilated."
Insulationalso meansthat there
is effectiveheatdeflection.
In additionto steel'sreflective
qualitiesto helpkeepit cooler,
there'snoneof the retained
heatof masonryandtile.
"I've beensayingfor yearsthat
housesare goingto go downin
sizebecause
thebigversions
aren't
goingto be neededin 20 years
time," Poolesays."Typically,
familiesare shrinking,or people
aren'tgettingmarriedat all.
"Thebeautyaboutthis system
is that if youbuilda houselikethis
andhaveanotherchildyousimply
buildonthe extrabedroomand
whentheygrowup andmove
onyou put the bedroomon
their backandtheytake it away
with them.Soit reallyoffers
portabilityandflexibility."
Apartfromthe simplemodular
linkage,a formdeveloped on his
superblakeWeybahouse,the
projectandtransportable versions
alsoinGlude pushbackwallsthat
slideinto,or from,wall cavities
to openor sectionoff space.
"Youcanpusharoundthis house
andmakeit adaptable to a
varietyof sites.That'sa service
we haveto offeras architects.
"I'm gettingcalls from many
peoplewho don't want a spec.-
house.Theywant something
betterbutcan'taffordanarchitect.
Theycanaffordto go another
$200-$300a squaremetreover Project:
the spec.houseto get something The 'Small Houses' Series
like this. Generallyspeaking, Architect:
Gabriel Poole - Poole Design
the wealthierthe client" Poole
Design Team:
laments,"the moreunappealing Gabriel Poole
they areto do businesswith." Builder:
Houses by Hand
A flood of moneyhasheaded (Dominic Hand)
northto chasethe dreamof a Steel Fabricator:
Studio Steel (Barry Hamlet)
sub-tropical.lifestyle. Principal steel cladding:
Roof - COLORBOND@steel
"Manyof the buyersaremerely in the colour Armour Grey,
investorswho'vegot nointention rollformed in CUSTOM
ORB@profile
of livingin thesehouse~. They Walls - COLORBONoe steel
just buildrubbish,sell it off and in the colour Gull Grey,
moveon.Youcan'tjust complain rollformed in MINIRIB- profile
aboutthis situation.Youhave Size:
220 sq.m.
to try to do something,"Poole
Cost:
suggests,suddenlyincreasing $1,200 - $1,400 sq.m.
the possibilitiesbythe power
Photography:
of this mostsignificantone. Peter Hyatt
Peter Hyatt
Architectural
steelinnovationwithBHPSteelLimitednumber82, march2003