Brighton Residence

STATUS: UNDER CONSTRUCTION

This new home at Brighton, designed by Max Architects, is the epitome of luxury living. The expectations of its owners and the architects were for a heating, cooling and ventilation system that created the perfect interior environment at all times, and that wouldn’t be seen or heard. Mod Cons was engaged to deliver a solution to these exacting standards – a job made more complex by 29 overlays on the site, including one prohibiting mechanical equipment from the outside of the building.

Mod Cons applied sophisticated modelling that took into account the four-level floorplan, extensive glazing and variety of interior finishes, as well as integration with solar power generation, to ensure that the installed system would deliver sufficient capacity at the lowest possible operating costs. Then the team set about designing a solution that would deliver that capacity while supporting the client brief and satisfying the building overlays.

The basement was identified as the optimum location for the HVAC plant but nothing was available in Australia that met the project requirements. After an extensive global search, equipment was sourced from an Italian manufacturer, which was then paired with an AirSmart indoor environment system. Extensive piping was installed from the basement to air delivery points on the different levels, and chimney stacks were designed with acoustic dampening to eliminate noise. Another international search was required to source the quietest possible fans for air circulation, the final product sourced from Germany and imported in advance of international public release. And inside each room, all that can be seen is a stylishly minimal air delivery grille that integrates heating, cooling and air return – the only evidence, apart from the constantly perfect air temperature, that a system has been installed at all.

Mod Cons director Dylan Sims describes a project that demanded incredible attention to detail, from initial modelling and engineering design, through multiple rounds of consultation and solution refinements with the architects and clients, to handover. “As is always the case, we put a lot of effort into getting the engineering right at the outset, and then focused on coordination of the design process until we reached a perfect solution,” he says. “It’s immensely satisfying that we could deliver a heating, cooling and ventilation solution that supports the beautiful architecture here, and gives the owners of the home a life of supreme comfort.”