Sustainable Design Archives

Renovate on any budget

Wanting to improve your home but don’t know where to start or how far your money will stretch? Experienced designer Simone Schenkel shares her tips for sustainable renovations with a starting budget of $10,000 through to $350,000-plus.

Ideas & Advice

Energy upgrade: From 1 to 7 Star

Danielle King and her partner were keen to find a way to measure the impact of their renovation, and she explains what they did to improve their 1 Star home into one with a 7 Star energy rating.

Sustainable Design

On the verge

Public meets private in that space between front fences and the road, which makes verge gardens a contested but exciting frontier for sustainable landscape design.

Sustainable Design

Natural connectors: Biophilic design takes root

Bringing nature into our homes and building designs is shown to improve our health and wellbeing – so it’s little wonder leading sustainable designers are integrating natural systems into residential architecture and landscaping in Australia.

Sustainable Design

Mind the gaps: Passive House from the inside

Certified Passive House is gaining traction in Australia, especially with sustainable designers and builders. But why are people embracing a voluntary building standard, and what does it offer that passive solar design does not?

Sustainable Design

Window of opportunity: Costing the benefits of bushfire design

Almost a decade since Black Saturday and the subsequent introduction of Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) ratings, many people are still grappling with this aspect of the building regulations. Building designer Dick Clarke unpacks his experiences with the standard, and suggests ways to improve its workability.

Sustainable Design

Choosing an architect

How a good architect can work with you to create a great design that is inspiring, meets your needs and is mindful of your budget.

Sustainable Design

The rise of the courtyard

As courtyards replace backyards as the primary outdoor space, architect Marie Carrel explains how they are best designed to maintain liveability.

Multi-residential

Refining the model: Nightingale

Nightingale Housing skips over the traditional, profit-driven property development model to instead deliver affordable and beautiful apartment communities that people are clamouring to live in.

Interiors

Stairs with flair

The humble staircase can do far more than provide access to your second floor. Stairs can fulfil multiple purposes from storage and thermal regulation to design feature or just sheer fun.

Sustainable Design

Open source home automation

Designer Paul Hendy explains how he used the open standard KNX software to augment his passive solar home for ultimate comfort.

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