Product Description

Issue contents

House profiles:

We visit houses across Australia where sustainable materials were at the heart of the design brief.

• Tune up
  A U-shaped house on a tight Gold Coast block optimises privacy and creates secluded spaces to sit, depending on the sun and season.
• Urban lifecycle
  Sustainably sourced materials meet passive solar design in the custom renovation and extension of a period Melbourne cottage
• Raw materials
  Raw and prefinished materials are used with great effect for a contemporary farmhouse near Margaret River.
• An uplifting prospect
  An exceptional block of land called for a special kind of home, and that’s what architect Brian Steendyk delivered at Bellbird Retreat in rural Queensland.
• Elevated thinking
  A compact family home is a striking anomaly in Perth’s beachside Coogee, where the trend is towards ever-larger houses on shrinking lot sizes.
• Testing ground
  Experimenting with hempcrete for a flexible studio has helped owner-builders finetune their design for a future family home.
• Glorifying tents
  Sustainable architects are drawing inspiration from age-old tent designs – including Moroccan Berber and classic pitched scout tents – and the results are spectacular.

Ideas & advice:

• Cladding: getting it right
  What you should be considering when choosing the cladding for your sustainable home or renovation.
• Upcycled glasshouses
  Inside five home conservatories built using reclaimed materials, including single glazing.
• Materials frontier
  Dick Clarke uncovers new composites that reduce carbon, interrupt waste streams and reassemble themselves.
• Deconstruction: From waste to product
  How inventor Veena Sahajwalla is designing waste out of the economy.
• Light saviours
  Three lighting experts provide rescue remedies for poor lighting design.
• Airtight design meets MVHR
  Jenny Edwards explains when mechanical ventilation with heat recovery is really needed.
• Buyer (still) beware
  We have a new building code, so why are consumers still being short-changed?
• Design workshop: Making space for family and friends
  Paul Worroll of Reddog Architects suggests an alternative pavilion renovation idea for a 1950s brick home.