8.0 star sustainable house

Small Residence, Nambour QLD

This family home was conceived as two pavilions embracing the steep site joined with a breezeway and sheltered courtyard deck. The separation of the house into parts with mostly northern exposure optimises its passive heating and cooling abilities, daylighting, cross ventilation and integration with the landscape.

With a modest 210m² footprint, this 4 bedroom house shows that with good design, conventional materials and construction technology can result in a sustainable, energy-efficient home.

I'm still amazed by the little things that give me great joy daily that I didn't plan for but Andrew and Chris did - the way the lights fall on the entry stairs at night, the way the moon glows through the recycled wood beams that divide my bedroom from my study, the way the sun doesn't hit the floor in the kids play area at all in summer, but hits the wall on the far side of the room in winter.

They filled my brief 100% and then a bit more. It is an easy house to live in that fits my life - previous places I have had to modify my life to fit the house (if that makes sense!). It is cool in summer - I have no air conditioning and didn't miss it at all through summer this year. It is warm in winter. The electricity consumption is substantially less than my last place because of good design both thermally and in terms of lighting.

~ Dr. Kirsten Small, 2010 ~