Clare Cousins Architects together with The Sociable Weaver have developed an example of how a modern home can be functional, affordable and kinder to our planet. The 10 Star home is the first 10 Star home to be built in Victoria, and the first home in Australia to be 10 Star, carbon positive, and built to zero waste and building biology principles.

Carbon Positive
Through Life Cycle Analysis by eTool, modelling shows that over the lifetime of the home, the 10 Star Home will not only negate its carbon footprint but will positively exceed it. This equates to 203kg of carbon emissions saved per year per occupant.

Zero Waste Philosophy
Built with a zero waste philosophy, all efforts were taken to ensure as little waste to landfill was generated during construction – in the end only three rubbish bags of waste had to go to landfill. This was achieved by working with suppliers to reduce packaging that was delivered to site, and by recycling and re-purposing as much material as possible, for example, plasterboard offcuts were used in the garden bases to add minerals to the soil.

Healthy Home
Built to follow Building Biology principles, the home is entirely healthy and non-toxic – from the natural sealants and paints used on floors, walls and ceilings, through to organic and sustainable furnishings such as organic cotton bedding and mattresses, non-toxic natural cleaning products, right down to sustainable bamboo toothbrushes.

10 Star Energy Rating
Victoria’s first 10 Star home, the house uses passive solar design and cross-flow ventilation to heat and cool the home. This is achieved through thermal mass industrial concrete floors, under slab insulation, FSC hardwood double-glazed windows and innovative new technology Phase Change Material insulation in walls and ceilings. Combined with 5KW photovoltaic solar on the roof and highly efficient LED lighting throughout, the home is estimated to cost only $3 per year to run.

Photography by Dan Hocking.

http://clarecousins.com.au/
www.thesociableweaver.com.au/

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Interested in sustainable building? Read about sustainable skyscrapers here.