Pursell House (Koonga Maya)

Research Background Bushfire safety and biodiversity conservation are typically considered to be opposing management goals in the world’s bushfire prone landscapes. Although this problem is of national and international significance there are very few researchers or practitioners seeking to reconcile these opposing goals through innovative building design. The Pursell House (Koonga Maya) is sited within Proteaceae dominated shrubland on the south coast of WA known as ‘Kwongkan’, which is recognized internationally for its biodiverse endemism. Indeed since 2015, clearing of Kwongkan has been prohibited under Australia’s Environmental & Biodiversity Conservation Act. Research Contribution The Pursell House is designed for an extreme Bushfire Attack Level of BAL 40/FZ as per the Australian Standard AS3959:2009. With a very small footprint of 36m2 this house celebrates the rich biota of its site by prioritising bushfire resilience over vegetation management as the primary bushfire risk mitigation strategy. In detail, the project utilises a fire proof ‘exoskeleton’ of cast in-situ concrete that supports novel bushfire shutter designs that are the result of the author’s industrial design innovations. Research Significance Through the Pursell House, the author has established not only an exemplar for sustainable development in bushfire prone areas but a new field of design research which challenges conventional paradigms that the management goals of biodiversity conservation and bushfire safety are in direct opposition