Ideas & Advice
Ask our experts: Architects Declare Australia
The Architects Declare Australia movement, launched last year in response to the growing climate emergency (see Sanctuary 49), now has nearly 900 signatories. One of the commitments is the inclusion of life cycle analysis to measure and reduce the carbon impact of design and construction projects; we asked Clinton Cole of Sydney’s CplusC Architectural Workshop to explain what his practice is doing to contribute to positive change in this area in alignment with their pledge.
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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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Ideas & Advice
Where there’s smoke: Protecting yourself from air pollution at home
Traditional approaches to good indoor air quality centre around materials that don’t off-gas, indoor plants and an abundant supply of fresh external air – but what if it’s not so fresh? Building scientist Jenny Edwards looks at what you can do when the outside air is hazardous, as was the case in many parts of the country this past summer.
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Outdoors
In the line of fire: Plant list
Download a list of popular native species to accompany our Sanctuary 51 article 'In the line of fire: Garden design to reduce the threat of bushfire'.
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Ideas & Advice
Ask our experts: the Living Building Challenge
Fittingly, the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre premises at NSW’s University of Wollongong is the first building in Australia to be certified under the Living Building Challenge (LBC) framework for sustainable, regenerative buildings. We asked the centre’s director, Senior Professor Paul Cooper, what the LBC is all about and how they achieved it.
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Ideas & Advice
Nurturing nature
There’s a lot you can do to promote biodiversity when you’re designing a new home or renovation, with clear benefits for you and your family as well as for the natural environment. Ecologist Sarah Bekessy and her colleagues explain what’s possible.
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Ideas & Advice
Modern green homes: A short history of energy-efficient housing in Australia
As we celebrate 50 issues of Sanctuary, it’s timely to look back at how far the ‘modern green homes’ of our tagline have come in the magazine’s lifetime. CSIRO building researcher Anthony Wright looks at the development of energy efficiency regulations, how we’re building, and where to next for achieving a truly sustainable built environment.
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Ideas & Advice
Charging forward: Getting your home electric vehicle ready
Is there an electric vehicle in your future? Even if you don’t have immediate plans to buy an EV, if you’re building a new home or renovating it’s a good idea to keep in mind the requirements for housing and charging one. Your house – and its wiring – should last for decades, and the electrified transport future will be here sooner than you think.
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Ideas & Advice
Biblio-tech: Libraries leading sustainable design
Far from disappearing into obscurity as the world goes digital, libraries around the world are being reinvented as vibrant community hubs. The best examples demonstrate environmental sustainability in their design as well as contributing to the social sustainability of their communities.
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On the drawing board
On the drawing board: Analysis of a bushfire loss
Late last year, a house designed by Dick Clarke of Envirotecture burnt to the ground in the Gospers Mountain bushfire. Dick investigates why the house burned, and what can be learned to help rebuild it and other houses in fire-prone areas so that it’s less likely to happen again.
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Ideas & Advice
Climate resilient homes
For the past year, Sanctuary’s publisher Renew has been spearheading a campaign for climate resilient homes, focusing on pushing for much-needed changes to minimum energy standards. Our sustainable housing advocate Anne Martinelli looks at why this is important, what’s been achieved so far and what’s next.
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