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Category Archives: Sustainable housing

Architectural Design Making a Positive Impact on Sustainability in your Liveable City

If you are faced with the question; “Are you part of a liveable city”, would you know how to answer? Many would consider any city that they live in as a liveable city, but what does that really mean? The answer revolves around a few simple words that some of us are well versed with, while others are not. – sustainability, conservation, environmentally friendly, eco-friendly and carbon friendly (to name a few). Creating a more liveable city comes down to several factors, beginning with residential and commercial designs that offer sustainable features. Modern technology is now proving that there are …

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Practical Ideas For Self-Sustaining Homes

Raising ecological awareness has become imperative in this modern era. It is our responsibility and a great necessity to advocate and apply eco-friendly practices in order to stop climate changes, prevent global warming and eventually protect our precious environment. Thus, it does not surprise that self-sustaining homes have gained so much popularity. The idea has been welcomed by an impressive number of people and we can rightfully expect to build a more sustainable world in the near future. So, what are the best practical ideas for self-sustaining homes? Here is a comprehensive answer. Features of self-sustaining homes Self-sustaining homes have …

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Australian Sustainable Design: the Challenges, What We’re Getting Right, and Where to From Here

The drive behind building more environmentally friendly residential homes is coming from individuals, not government bodies, and cookie-cutter developments are holding us back, according to a think tank assembled to address the issue of implementing sustainable design. The chair of the discussion, organised by LG Electronics, was architect and TV host Peter Maddison, who argued that changing our behaviour was key to these kinds of properties having their maximum benefit. “In my view, sustainability is a lot bigger than just green stuff,” Maddison said. “We can put the best solar panels in the world in our house, and that’s a …

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How Do Food Scraps Turn Into Renewable Energy?

During a trip in India, Yair Teller, then a curious student and today the co-founder and CSO of Homebiogas, saw a family cooking on gas in a village of people who predominantly cooked over firewood. This was quite shocking. The family used the biogas their biodigester produced from food waste to cook their food, and the fertilizer it produced to nourish flowers, which they then sold  in the market to create extra source of revenue. They got all of those benefits simply from recycling their cow’s manure in a biodigester. Fast forward a few years and Yair was joined by …

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Spotlight On: GreenCareer

GreenCareer provides the latest jobs, news, conferences, events and education listings for environmental, NRM and sustainability professionals around the country. Part of the CareerSpot suite of 18 connected information portals – we tap the active and passive jobs seekers and career professionals – placing the latest information for their industry – directly into their inbox.  GreenCareer is part of the CareerSpot suite of industry specific jobs and information portals. With more than 150,000 subscriptions across the suite – we’re fast becoming the go to place for industry information, conferences, events, education opportunities, news and jobs. With sites in the suite …

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Housing Affordability: A Problem With A Solution?

The unaffordability of housing is an almost universal problem, with planners and politicians alike being accused of killing the Aussie or Kiwi Dream. This is not a new issue —in the 1950s the ‘working man’ faced problems financing their first home. That was addressed by the emergence of the ‘working woman’ and her income and government assistance from soft loans to building subsidies, to smooth the way to home ownership. While government intervention is still possible, present governments are less willing to intervene in those ways and the ‘working family’ has no one left to send out to work. Governments …

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Sustainable Strata Schemes

The issue of sustainability is currently very topical, given the level of commentary around climate change, increasing greenhouse gas emission levels and global warming. The current generation wants to ensure the population’s needs are met without compromising the needs of future generations, and there is general agreement that people need to reduce their carbon footprint. One of the key areas to take action is by having more sustainable living quarters. Not only will this benefit future generations, but it will probably reduce the cost of living with lower energy and water bills. According to City of Sydney Council, over 73 …

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WA Indigenous Elders apartments win at 2015 Sustainability Awards

Architecture and Design The Walumba Elders Centre by iredale pedersen hook architects (ipha) was the winner of the Multi-Density Category prize and the Best of the Best award at the 2015 Sustainability Awards. ipha received the prestigious honour at the awards ahead of 68 finalists and a record number of entries.   On 13 March, 2011 the Giga people’s home town of Warmun was devastated by a catastrophic one in 300 year flood event. Three hundred people were displaced for 12 months while new houses were built. Working directly with the community Elders and the Home and Community Care staff, …

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Sustainability the new goal in home design

Domain A competitive return on investment is drawing more buyers to energy efficient homes, writes Amelia Barnes. The vast majority of Australian homes cannot be classed as sustainable. Often derivative of American or European architectural styles that aren’t designed for the country’s unique environment and context, Australian homes are historically poorly insulated and made from materials selected primarily to keep costs down. While the term “sustainable” is often used in design without true consideration of its definition, this most accurately means “a home that meets the needs of present generations without compromising on future generations”. Using efficient energy and materials both in production and in operation, a …

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Are sustainable houses worth more?

AFR, 11 September 2015. Jeremy Spencer built a house for his family and parents to move into last year. The three-bedroom, two-storey house in Seaholme, in Melbourne’s west, meets several needs – it’s accessible in its design, with wide passageways, ramps and counter-hung benches that permit his wheelchair-bound father to fully participate in the family life. It’s also sustainable. The house is built with materials such as a recycled concrete-and-glass slab and recycled bricks on the inside to create a thermal mass that absorbs northern sun in winter and diffuses it at night. It also has a solar panel system on the roof. “Our …

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