Outdoors
Upcycled glasshouses
Are we in a new golden age of conservatories? Secondhand glazing is being given a new life as greenhouses – but far from being plant-only spaces, we visit five conservatories which double as cosy extra rooms for relaxation.
Read moreSanctuary Magazine Subscription
Sanctuary: modern green homes is Australia's premier magazine dedicated to sustainable house design.
Building materials
Thin skin: getting cladding right
Cladding has become controversial, but every building needs a skin. What should you consider when choosing cladding material?
Read more
Ideas & Advice
Light saviours: ways to upswitch your lighting
With so many lighting products to choose from, why are most homes – even sustainable ones – still so poorly lit? We ask three lighting luminaries for their advice on how to avoid the 'she'll be right' status quo.
Read more
Inside Mark Clayton's sustainable house!
Mark Clayton recently built a sustainable home in Glanville and shows you around his house to explain some of the simple things he has implemented to make the house more environmentally friendly. As a Sustainable Design Architect, he knows his stuff and will share some simple tips with you.
Watch videoLatest news
News
Open your sustainable home
Throw open your doors to the public and inspire others on Sustainable House Day, Sunday September 15.
Read more
News
Sanctuary 47: sustainable materials
The new issue of Sanctuary magazine focuses on healthy and environmentally sustainable material choices, including cladding.
Read more
Research
All-electric solar homes save thousands over gas: report
New homes that are all-electric and have solar power will save their owners thousands of dollars according to a new report by Renew.
Read more
Research
The fairness of rooftop solar
The Total Environment Centre and Renew have collaborated on a report on the equity implications of rooftop solar.
Read moreDesign advice
Ideas & Advice
Airtight design
If you’re planning to build an airtight home, it’s important that you also consider indoor air quality. We ask building scientist Jenny Edwards to tease out the issues around mechanical ventilation with heat recovery – including when it’s needed and when it’s not.
Read more
Ideas & Advice
A new solution to our waste crisis
Creating new materials from waste products is essential if we’re to solve the global recycling, waste and emissions crisis.
Read more
Ideas & Advice
Materials frontier: Composites reforming the way we build
Sustainable designer Dick Clarke explains some of the new developments reshaping the way we build in Australia and around the world, including composite materials that reduce carbon, interrupt waste streams and even re-assemble themselves.
Read moreGet updates from Sanctuary
Take the next step
Become a Sanctuary member
Sustainable design events
In focus
In focus
Inside the war on construction waste
Deconstructing buildings to salvage materials is less common than demolition for landfill – but could this be about to change?
Read more
In focus
Lessons learnt
Five years ago we featured a house in the Currumbin Ecovillage on the Gold Coast that was designed using three pavilions to accommodate two households in a co-housing arrangement. How is their experiment evolving? We revisit to find out.
Read more
In focus
Get the most from your solar PV for summer cooling
Cooling your house using your rooftop solar system requires a bit of thought and planning, but when you get it right, the savings can be well worth it.
Read moreMore house profiles
New build
Testing ground
Joel and Danni Turner, with architect Nikki Mote, experimented with hempcrete for a compact studio to finetune the design and build for their future family house.
Read more
New build
An uplifting prospect
Set in a biodiverse landscape 700m above sea level in Queensland’s Great Dividing Range, this small-footprint home is built to withstand the fire threat and extreme temperature fluctuations.
Read more
New build
Glorifying tents
We’ve all heard the gripe that Australian houses perform no better than glorified tents, but architects are taking inspiration from these age-old forms. The houses showcased here demonstrate how long-held understandings about shelter have a role to play in climate-responsive design.
Read more