Inspiring sustainable homes from around the world These houses combine great design with environmental sensitivity, letting their lucky owners live in the best of both worlds

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HILL END ECOHOUSE BY RIDDEL ARCHITECTURE This new Brisbane home, designed by Emma Scragg and David

Cole, is made from 75 per cent recycled materials, including

some harvested from the house that previously occupied

the lot. All additional materials were rigorously assessed for

sustainability credentials.

Built on a lot only 10m wide, the house is designed to

encourage airflow through and between storeys; concrete

walls, sunshades and natural ventilation mean the house

does not require air conditioning. With solar panels and an

underground tank which holds up to 60,000 litres of rainwater,

the house is also completely self-sufficient with regard to

water and electricity and holds a six-star energy-efficiency

rating. www.rara.net.au

Photography: Christopher Frederick Jones

01. The Hill End Ecohouse is made from 75 per cent recycled materials.

02. The house is completely self-sufficient with regard to water and electricity.

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FEATURE | INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE HOMES

HUT ON SLEDS BY CROSSON CLARKE CARNACHAN This beach house sits within the coastal erosion zone on the

shore of New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula, so architects

Crosson Clarke Carnachan designed it to be completely

portable. Measuring a tiny 40m², it accommodates a family

of five thanks to smart space planning. Double-height glass

doors open the front of the house to the beach, removing

the need for air conditioning, and the rear is clad in affordable

“flat sheet”. Its other environmentally friendly features include

a worm tank waste system and grey-water recycling. When

the house is not in use, wooden shutters allow it to be closed

against the elements and the entire house can be pulled back

from the shore. www.ccca.co.nz

Photography: Jackie Meiring

01. The Hut on Sleds is designed to be completely portable.

02. Smart space planning enables this tiny hut to accommodate a family of five.

03. Environmental features include a worm tank waste system and grey-water recycling.

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01. The Brooks Avenue House project is a large extension to an existing home.

02. Large pivoting doors open out to the courtyard.

03. Three sides of the extension are covered in a living greenwall.

BROOKS AVENUE HOUSE BY BRICAULT DESIGN This 1700-square-foot extension to a house in Venice, California,

is designed to eliminate the need for air conditioning. A central

staircase from the rooftop deck to the ground floor acts like a

chimney, circulating cool air through the house, large pivoting

doors allow rooms to be opened to the courtyard and the cedar

cladding provides shade. Three sides of the extension are covered

in a striking living greenwall of vegetables and indigenous plants,

which are fed by captured rainwater and a domestic grey-water

system. Electricity is supplied by a rooftop solar panel and low-

emission finishes are used throughout. www.bricault.ca

Photography: Kenji Arai

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FEATURE | INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE HOMES