THESMARTER

OUSEGREEN BUILDINGS NOW GO WAY BEYOND ENERGY-EFFICIENT

LIGHTBULBS AND LOW-FLOW SHOWERS. SUE WHITE ASKED FOURKEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS HOW THEY MAKE AN IMPACT.

./ A- . /• -

GAVIN SCOTT,EARTHBOUNDDESIGN ANDCONSTRUCT,NSW CENTRALCOAST

Pondering the ramifications ofthe credit crunch, sustainablebuilder Gavin Scott sees a potentialupside. "I think the current trendtowards recession will actuallybring owner-building back to itsstrength," he says.

It's an unusual perspective fora builder, until you discoverthatGavin's perspective on green goes

I CAN'T SEE ANY OTHER MEDIUM THAT IS AS INEXPENSIVEAND ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN AS CONSTRUCTING OUTOF EARTH. MUD BRICKS CONTAIN ALMOST NO EMBODIEDENERGY, PARTICULARLY IF YOU CAN MAKE THEM NEARBY.

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way beyond materials. He believesthat by participating in the process,owners better appreciate what goesinto their buildings. "The way thatbanks and financial groups haveoperated in the past has discouragedpeople from physically having a gothemselves,"he adds.

One way Gavin believes ownerscan become hands-on withouttoo many special skills is by usingmud brick: "I can't see any othermedium that is as inexpensiveand environmentally benign asconstructing out of earth. Mud brickscontain almost no embodied energy,particularly if you can make themnearby or onsite.There's also usuallyno need for cement.The only realdisadvantage is it's time consuming."

Of course, mud brick isn't the onlygood option: "Sustainable timber isbeautiful in that it's low in embodiedenergy and can be recycled. But toget a good thermal result you needto insulate it. Ultimately, the trickto environmental building is to letgo of a one-size-fits-all approach.We will build out ofany medium ormaterial, but I try to design housingto suit both the client and a site. A lotof people impose their house on thesite rather than work with both itsvirtues and its disadvantages."

Like most sustainable builders, he

m

starts with the orientation. "Inan ideal world you will see the sitein different weather conditionsand choose something with anortherly aspect," he explains. "It'sthe quickest way to make a housemore energy-efficient."

Beyond this, owners aiming to begreen should find a builder they canactually talkto: "The builder reallyneeds to listen to how the clientsperceive themselves as living. It'sreally common for people to thinkthey need areas they don't use often.Big bedrooms are a good example.Ifyou really getto the crunch, mostpeople are only in their bedroomsforavery small part of their day. For99 per cent of families, mosttimeisspent in the kitchen and living areas."

Gavin says the rooms used mostshould be integrated with theexternal environmentto avoid theownerfeeling boxed in. "Ratherthanbeing forced to live within the house,or specifically be outside, try tointegrate the two," he suggests.

While every site is different, Gavinmaintains the local environmentis always important. "It's good toreduce the impact on neighboursand to keep your house in contextwith the local style," he says. "Ideally,you want to end up with a housethat looks like it grows out of the siteratherthan one that's landed on it."www.earthboundeco.com.au

THE ARCHITECT

Ben Callery saysZen Architects asks clientsto change their thinking.Portrait by Hiiton Stone.

!;«: Zen's

Macedon house wasdesigned in local

limestone to cope withextremes of heat and cold.

Photos by Emma Cross.

BEN CALLERY, ZEN ARCHITECTS,MELBOURNE"We expend so much energy inheating and cooling, which meansyour house, where you spend mostofyourtime, is one of the biggestimpacts people can have on theenvironment," observes Melbournearchitect Ben Callery. He believes abuilding designed around passivesolar principles will add to, notdetract from, the occupants' lifestyle.

"There are lots of reallycontemporary ways to build greenwithout sacrificing comfort orlifestyle," he says. "In fact, greenhouses should actually be morecomfortable. A building designedaround passive solar principles will

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usesunlightto heatthe building,which creates comfort. Ductedheating and reverse cycle air-conditioning can churn out dry, nastyair, so ifa room has been designedto heat and cool naturally it's morehealthy. The feeling of real warmthand light from the sun is wonderful."

Ben agrees with Gavin Scott thatwe often don't need as much spaceas we think: "People think they needa room foreveryfunction they do.Ourfirm focuses on flexible spaces,which have multiple purposes.We recently did a job where thesecond living room can convert intoa kids' room, aTVroom ora guestroom with a fold-out bed. We aresqueezing lots of functions into asmall space because the smaller theroom is, the less energy is neededto heat or cool it, as well as the lessembodied energy to build it."

New owners are disinclined to"think small": "People are often veryreluctant to do it—they want a four-bedroom house of 25om2 and it'snot till you start designing thattheysee how small, high-quality spacescan add to their lives.

"Eco houses ultimately rely onthe actions of the occupants.We have lots of clients who don'tneed to be pushed at all; they arekeen to change to make their lifegreener. But we do get some withthe misconception that if you putenough money into a green houseyou don't have to change youractions. But you do."

I nteracting with the space goesbeyond opening and closing curtainsat the right time. "You can't just goabout business as usual," Ben says."It's just about being sensible: yourfirst reaction can't just be to switchon the air-conditioner if you couldopen a window instead. You alsohave to use it smartly in the way youfit it out. It's great to use low-flowfittings and fixtures, butthat'sjustthe start; you have to be aware ofhow much you use these things."Think before buying appliances andbe conscious of showertimes andwater efficiency. The end result takeseco consciousness to its rightfulplace. "The owners will develop aconnection with the environment ona deeper level," he says.www.zenarchitects.com

GreenLivinq 41

THE DEVELOPERROB BURGESS, SURFSIDE,COFFS COASTFor developer Rob Burgess, therecomes a point where all of us need topractise what we preach: "I've alwaysbeen attuned to sustainability, butsomewhere in your life you decide,'I'm finally going to do what I've beentalking about for years.'"

For many of his 40 years in townplanning, including 12 years withSydney's Manly Council, Burgesshas been emphasising the roleof developers in defining andmaintaining an area's unique socialaspects as a key part of sustainability.

"You can define being green aswater harvesting, reducing energyand working with building materialsthat use less energy, but for me theholistic nature of sustainability isfar more interesting," he says. "It'sthe total balance, which includessustaining the character and socialfabric of the area in question."

YOU CAN DEFINE BEING GREEN AS WATER HARVESTING,REDUCING ENERGY AND USING MATERIALS THAT USE LESSENERGY, BUT FOR ME IT'S THE BALANCE, WHICH INCLUDESMAINTAINING THE AREA'S CHARACTER AND SOCIAL FABRIC.

Town planner turneddeveloper Rob Burgess,

Photo: Ken Brass,

Above right andopposite page: The

Surfside developmentinWooigoolga,NSW,

embraces "stowurbanism" ideals.

Smart designand size restraint are

hallmarks of the project.

Defining his approach as "slowurbanism", Rob feels strongly thatnew buildings in Australia's smallcoastal towns should enhance,not overshadow, their naturalenvironment. With Surfside, hisfamily's beachfront developmentnear Coffs Harbour, he had a chanceto put his money where his mouthwas.To ensure a design philosophy

in keeping with the region, thearchitect studied the character andarchitectural features of the areaas well as the naturally occurringelements in the landscape.

"Small-scale coastal villages are notabout brick or rendered suburbanhouses plonked on blocks withwalls around them," Rob says. "Ifeveryone simply moves to the coastand produces a type of housing thatdestroys the character of the placethey're moving to, what's the point?"

He says rear-loading houses(garaging cars at the back of aproperty), a practice common inPerth's suburb of Subiaco, is one waydevelopers can ensure vehicles don'tdominate the streetscape.

"By rear loading, the front of eachhouse connects to the street, like theold terrace houses did when you saton the porch and mum shelled thepeas and talked to everyone walkingpast," he says. "Slow urbanism issocially a far better way than a big

brick house behind double garages.While real estate agents toutlocation, location, location', if greenbuilders or developers have a mantra,it must surely be'orientation,orientation, orientation'."

As the first multi-residentialdevelopment on the Coffs Coastto pass the Basix requirementsfor water, thermal comfort andenergy, Surfside was a test case fordevelopers and local governmentalike. "I wanted neighbouringbuildings to function together as aunit," Rob adds.

While optimum orientationhad to be shared between the sixunits, smart design and the willto exceed Basix requirements forsustainable buildings meant thateven those with the least favourableorientations were able to achievegood levels of energy efficiency bycapturing natural ventilation andthe winter sun. Combining smartdesign with size restraint resulted inasmallerecologicalfootprintforthewhole project.

"Now that it's finished it looks as ifit should be there, and that's the realtest," Rob concludes.wwvj.surfsidecoffscoast.com.au

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WARREN PERRETT, AQUABLOCKPLUMBING, MELBOURNEIt may not have the catchiest name,but the Master Plumbers andMechanical Services Associationof Australia (MPMSAA) knows itssubject matter. And, according to thegeneral manager of Australia's largestplumbers association, homeownersoverlooking green plumbing areliterally letting money and resourcesgo down the drain.

"Up to 70 per cent of energysavings come from plumbing-relatedactivities,"says Carry Workman, CMof the MPMSAA, which has trainedmore than 7300Australian plumberssince its Green Plumbing programbegan in Melbourne in 2000.

Afterworking in the industry for

ago I began to train up in all facetsof green plumbing and trainingour staff. Now I'm starting to takepleasure in helping a client save thegarden they've built up over theyears. I feel we're really beginning toachieve something."

Most home owners'first contactwiththeirgreenpiumbershould

AND ADVISE ONWHAT IS POSSIBLE. THEY CAN EVEN LIAISE WITH OTHERPROFESSIONALS ABOUT WHERE SAVINGS CAN BE MADE.

Above: Rob Lakinand Warren Perrett ofAquablock Plumbing

accept the Green Plumberof the Year award in 2008.

more than 35 years, 2008 GreenPlumber of the Year, Warren Perrett,from Melbourne'sAquablockPlumbing, is the first to admit hewasn't always eco-minded. Initially,he felt that greening upAquablockwas simply smart business.

"When I first started this I wasn'ta total greenie," he says. "I just had agutfeeling this would become veryimportant down the track. I beganto really see that water would beanissue for us all, so about seven years

be via an audit, a taskfor whichmost water boards offer rebates.Plumbers will look at water savtrvg,irrigation storage, solar possibilitiesand heat savings and advise on whatis possible. For conscious owner-builders, theirgreen plumbercaneven liaise with other professionalsabout where savings can be made.

"We mayadviseyourbuilderaboutwhat can be achieved,"Warren says.

He adds that new technologies aremaking a real difference to practice

such as greywater reuse, which nowgoes well beyond sticking a hoseout the window to divert washingmachine wateron to a garden bed.

"New treatment systems allowall greywaterfrom showers, basins,baths [and] laundry [to be] treated,sent to a storage tank and thenreturned to the toilet and washingmachines," he explains. "They arevery complex, computerised systemsthat can easily cut water use by40 per cent."

Despite the cost of such a system(about $20,000), Warren says hisMelbourne business is installingabout one a week. It is also doingan ever-increasing trade in theinstallation of solar hot-watersystems, as well as slimlineandunderground tanks, in what hesays is a growing market. "There'sdefinitely room for more greenplumbers in other states outsideVictoria," he adds. "It's a great way fora business to go."

ForWarren's2o-strong staff,customers'enthusiasm about theresults of their work offers positivefeedback that goes beyond a typicaljob. Although the feedback comesin surprising forms, it's a result theytake pleasure in.

"The parishioners at St GeorgeChurch in Ivanhoe are saving 70,000litres of water and they're ecstaticabout what they've achieved, sowe will read about it in theirchurchnewsletter, "he says.www.aquablockplumbing.com.auwww.greenplumbers.com.au mi

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