House profiles
Just right for one
Built on a budget, Liz Martin’s character-filled Bendigo home is a delightful example of well-designed urban infill.
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House profiles
House of comfort
Dylan and Robyn built a small, inexpensive and super-sustainable house in Adelaide using strawbales. Now, they wear t-shirts indoors all year round and get paid by their energy company, rather than paying bills.
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House profiles
High water haven
Stealing a march on the next Brisbane flood event, the renovation and downstairs fitout of Marion and Daniel’s Queenslander incorporates innovative flood-resilient design features.
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House profiles
Strait views
Designed to fit the slope of its block, this snug split-level house incorporates ribbon windows to maximise both views and thermal efficiency.
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House profiles
Proof positive
Veteran of an owner-built, deep green backyard flat project in Mittagong, NSW, Andy Lemann applied his learning to the main house, retrofitting it for much improved energy efficiency.
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Ideas & Advice
Volume-built wins: Steps to a more sustainable project home
Many people look to volume builders as an affordable option for their new home – but how do you achieve your sustainability goals with this mass-market product? ESD consultant and housing researcher Erika Bartak explains the easy wins, the pitfalls to avoid, and the important questions to ask.
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Outdoors
Nourished by nature: Garden design for mental health and wellbeing
There’s plenty of evidence that connection with nature is beneficial for both mind and body. We speak to the experts about designing gardens for improved mood and wellbeing, and what we can do at home to create green spaces that give back in a therapeutic way.
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Building a 'suburban beach house'
Watch our webinar with building scientist Jenny Edwards of Light House Architecture and Science, whose Canberra house is featured in Sanctuary 50. We hear about how she and her partner achieved a high-performing family home on a budget, using standard materials, a modular design approach and careful attention to detail. Subscribe to Renew on YouTube to keep up with our future videos.
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News
Sanctuary 56 out now: Sustainable House Day special
Sanctuary 56 is our annual Sustainable House Day special, tying in with this year’s event themes with deep dives into building and design, retrofitting, building materials and climate-resilient homes.
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Climate Resilient Homes
Households Better Off: lowering energy bills with the 2022 National Construction Code
Households are better off with more energy-efficient homes. Renew's report on cutting energy bills with the 2022 National Construction Code.
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Advocacy
Renters deserve a healthy home
Renew is part of a coalition pushing for healthy homes for renters.
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News
Announcing Green Rebuild Toolkit
Renew is using its expertise on sustainable homes to empower fire-affected communities to rebuild and retrofit their homes in a climate resilient way.
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Ideas and advice
Ideas & Advice
Experts explore: Sid Thoo and Dannielle Robertson on carefully targeted retrofits for comfort
Perth-based duo Dannielle Robertson and Sid Thoo describe how energy assessments can help identify the best places to spend your retrofit money.
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Ideas & Advice
Experts explore: Uta Green on using her new studio as a testing ground
Uta Green explains the design process for her practice’s new studio in Hobart, including using iterative energy ratings to optimise the small building’s performance.
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Ideas & Advice
Beating bushfire: Retrofitting for safer homes in fire-prone areas
Architect and bushfire design expert Nigel Bell outlines what owners of existing houses can do to improve their homes’ chances of surviving a fire.
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Sustainable design events
Design workshop
Design workshop
Design workshop: A higher-performing volume build
Kirsten and James are keen to make the project home they’re planning in Camberwell, Victoria, as energy-efficient and comfortable as possible, and have budgeted for some upgrades. Architect Penny Guild and ESD consultant Erika Bartak give the couple some advice on achievable tweaks to improve their home’s performance.
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Ideas & Advice
Design Workshop: Down by the river
Having lived in their beloved riverside suburb of Melbourne for ten years, Rowan Doyle and Fiona Cock are planning an updated, more flood-resilient home to accommodate changing family needs. They are interested in prefabrication and Passive House; Sven Maxa of Maxa Design is knowledgeable about both, and gives them some pointers.
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Design workshop
Design Workshop: New house from the old
On Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Lisa Hartmann and Kurt Weinert are planning to deconstruct their ageing, inefficient house and use the materials to build a sustainable new family home. Experienced in the use of recycled materials, Peter McArdle of ptma Architecture gives the couple some pointers.
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House profiles
Basking in sunlight
Part of the community at The Cape, this Passive House is simple, elegant and fit for ageing in place.
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House profiles
Strait views
Designed to fit the slope of its block, this snug split-level house incorporates ribbon windows to maximise both views and thermal efficiency.
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House profiles
Cape crusader
With the first residents well settled in and more high-performing homes under construction, one of Australia’s most ambitious housing developments is setting a precedent for community living. We profile two recently completed homes.
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