Delisle Hunt Wood: experts in great design and technical know how

New architectural team, dhw, rearranged internal spaces, minimised demolition and designed new microclimates for a project in Sydney’s Hurlstone Park. The result is a beautiful home that’s working for the whole family.

If you’re looking to right some of the sustainability wrongs of your home then Delisle Hunt Wood architects has both the design and technical skills you need.

The recently assembled architecture studio of three – Mitsuru Delisle, Graham Hunt and Ella Wood – came together earlier this year after working with each other on a number of projects over the years. 

They realised that together they could provide some strong all round skills and flair that would work for clients, not to mention years of hands on experience that we know creates valuable efficiencies.

Specialties include large and complex homes, unusual constructions, thermal modelling services and NatHERS assessments. The team also offer sustainable design consultations and feasibility studies. Dhw can also deliver at the small and budget constrained scale.

A great example of the latter is its work at the highly regarded Narara Ecovillage on the Central Coast of NSW. 

The team has a number of projects in the village, the briefs are challenging as budgets are typically very tight yet all the housing designs in the village mandate a minimum 7 star minimum NatHERS rating as well as compliance with the village’s own Building Standards, which set a high level of performance on a broad range of environmental factors such as energy, water, materials and health impacts. Graham Hunt assisted the community in developing these standards over a three year period.

But generally it’s in small-scale home renovations that the studio can really show their value.

At Hurlstone Park in Sydney, the studio opted not to change the footprint of a house, instead rearranging the internal configuration to create contemporary spaces, while keeping demolition work to a bare minimum.

This move helped to save costs on the build, in turn allowing focus to reside on the relationship between interior and exterior, using reclaimed and recycled timbers for all the outdoor spaces and creating a series of microclimates to help keep the place cool.

As experts in thermal comfort, the dhw team is always hunting for the sun and the breeze

“The owners now have a home that’s working really beautifully for the whole family,” Ella says.

Each member of the team brings their own flair and skills to sustainable design

Graham has nearly 20 years’ experience as an architect and accredited NatHERS assessor and Mits is LEED AP accredited. Ella’s core passion is in social sustainability, so her strength is in creating spaces that allow people to live sustainably.

As experts in thermal comfort, the dhw team is always hunting for the sun and the breeze.

“We are aware that the current housing stock is poorly designed for the Australian climate and many homes don’t fit with contemporary lifestyles,” Ella says. 

A typical Sydney terrace house for instance, generally has poor sun access and poor ventilation, which can make it too cool during a winter’s day and too hot on a summer night. A favoured solution by the studio is to increase north facing glazing and cross flow ventilation throughout.

You can get great outcomes with intelligent design, it doesn’t have to cost the earth

Many houses often need drastic changes, sustainability wise, they say. “But you can get great outcomes with intelligent design, it doesn’t have to cost the earth.”