Shades of green

The bathroom walls feature locally produced recycled plastic, a green wall planter and old-school cast iron bath.

David Saunders enjoys a cuppa in his naturally lit kitchen. Glazing is a combination of custom-fabricated, steel-framed double-glazed doors and windows and double-glazed, double-hung, sashless windows from Dayview Windows.

Kitchen joinery is green-stained plantation plywood.

The water, energy, materials and landscaping concepts used in this extensive restoration and addition to a heritage dwelling in St Kilda demonstrate a new approach to sustainable inner city living. It’s part of our Greener Kitchens & Bathrooms special.

Many common architectural elements are intentionally missing, including secondary finishes (such as paint) which have been minimised or eliminated completely by leaving durable construction materials in their natural ‘as built’ state. You won’t find white porcelain, plasterboard or chrome either; instead, toilets, basins and tapware are stainless steel.

Home to sustainable architect David Saunders and his family, the house is thermally efficient and all materials are either salvaged from the original house, recycled, plantation-grown, zero-VOC or naturally occurring. Their home is largely self-reliant with 43,400 litres of rainwater stored in 4 tanks, and energy use is minimal due to the incorporation of solar PV, energy efficient appliances and lighting and sensible lifestyle practices. They also grow fruit and vegetables in the courtyards and ‘roof farm’. Very little waste leaves the site due to careful recycling and extensive composting; grey water is diverted for reuse on gardens.

Sustainable features

Appliances

KWC Eve kitchen tap; Zip Sparkling Hydrotap
Miele and Qasair kitchen appliances
Liebherr refrigerator and freezer
Stainless steel toilets from Britex, cisterns from GWA Bathrooms & Kitchens
Linkware ‘Elle’ stainless steel bathroom fittings and fixtures
Fantech bathroom / air-transfer fans.

Materials

Internal walls, ceilings and joinery are plantation plywood with Intergrain clear satin finish or recycled lining boards
Benchtops stainless steel, granite and repurposed marble
Shower walls, splashbacks and some external wall cladding made from locally produced Replas recycled plastic
Elmich Versiwall ‘green wall’ planters
Vintage, fully restored cast iron bath.

Lighting

LED and compact fluorescent lamps
Velux skylights plus windows, glass walls and glass floors allow natural light to flood the entire house. Additional daylighting via internal garden and courtyards.

Other features

No air-conditioning required, natural cooling systems include cool humidified air naturally drawn up through the house via two internal ‘rainforests’ and air transfer system which draws cool air to the top level from the basement
Solar PV and Apricus solar hot water system.