Passive solar design - blend traditional & contemporary?

We are looking at building a custom design house along passive solar design principles. We live in a rural area so are not restricted by block size. Our main views are to the north which obviously is in our favour. We do however like the look of early colonial houses and here ****** our dilemna.

Would a house look odd if the front (south) and two sides (east and west) were in a more traditional facade with wide (2400mm) verandahs, french doors with the back (north) of the house being angled awnings etc. to take advantage of passive solar design? The house will probably have 2850mm ceilings.

Rough ideas is for north side to have formal lounge, family room, rumpus, kitchen, east to have master bedroom and ensuite, south to have minor bedrooms and home office, with laundry and semi-garage (filled in on west side but not front or back) to be on west side of house.

My thinking is the verandahs wouldn't be blocking any sun on the south side anyway (we perhaps would put laser lite in verandah roof over french doors for some extra light as bedrooms may be too dark). We would put a deciduous vine and plantings to shade east windows from early summer sun.

Also, do you need a building designer who specialises in passive solar design?

Thanks.

Indi I think that's a perfectly acceptable design mix.

Done right it can still blend in and be what you desire, ie country look with modern wrmth principles to be warm and comfortable.

As for the laserlite on the south side, that will work well in winter, but in summer some shading might be required depending on where you are located to avoid too much summer sun coming in, but shading options can help control this.

Thanks for the feedback. Do you think you need to go to a building designer that specialises in passive solar design? How hard is it to get right (mainly thinking about angles of a slatted pergola)? Any suggestions for anyone - we are in Central Highlands (Macedon Ranges) of in Victoria?

Indi - You would want maximum sun east north and norwest, hard floor surfaces,
Maximum in sun contact heavy thermal mass, ie concretewall 200mm thick within a solarium
...to maintain as much thermal gain as possible.
In summer your enter is from the south and keep the front closed up and have desiduous(sp?) fruit trees
cover for shade and food production .

Having visited some of the houses open for Sustainable House Day this afternoon, I wonder if the architects who specialise in that sort of thing would try to steer you in the direction of a certain style? I think if you can find one who has a thorough understanding of the principles but is willing to keep your requirements at the forefront, that would be the way to go.
I figured out a slatted pergola for my parents using information I found online (they ended up not building it though).

Hi Indi,

You definately need to use a specialist designer as the principles are very fine and if not properly understood the results can be very ineffective or overpowering of the house, ie too hot or cold.

PM me if you like and I can provide you with some guidelines as I provide online and phone based consulting services in this area of building, and I'm familiar with hot and cold hills area such as the ranges.

As once_Artisan said, you'll need to capture warmth in winter and block it in summer, but depending on your blocks orientation the actual design needs to take into hills valleys, big trees etc to get the right combinations for it to be effective.