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The Canberra Times

National

Lanie Tindale

How these Canberrans built low-carbon houses on the cheap

Winners of the Low Carbon Housing Challenge Michael Tolhurst, Jenny Edwards, Brendan Mcgregor, Christine Palmer of Light House Architecture and Science. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos

A local competition has revealed the top ways Canberrans can create low-, net zero and positive-carbon houses at the same price as other homes.

Adding solar panels, using existing building materials and creating smaller but more adaptable spaces can transform ordinary abodes into environmentally friendly sanctuaries.

Winner of the new house category, a one-storey home in Narrabundah designed by Michael Tolhurst Architects, used materials from the existing house.

"The Narrabundah house has brickwork from the existing dwelling, reused into the fabric of the new building. That was a really important thing," competition jury chair Rob Henry said.

The winner of the extension and renovations category, a Lyon home designed by Light House Architecture and Science, produces twice as much carbon as it needs. Carbon emissions from the house are 20 per cent of a typical Canberra family.

Scroll down for full list of winners.

Ironbark House by Allan Spira Architects won a commendation. Picture: Supplied

"It was a design exercise around getting better orientation and thermal performance, and things like that improved the overall efficiency of the house," Mr Henry said.

The competition wanted to award homes with good design as well as low carbon emissions. It's possible to create a positive-carbon house, meaning one that produces more carbon than it emits, just using solar panels.

However, Mr Henry said the best residences were adaptable enough to survive for decades across different owners.

"[We need to make] sure the things we build, whether it be an alt and adds or a new house, have a lifespan beyond the current owners and have the ability to adapt over time," he said.

"The Narrabundah house in particular did that very well. There's a series of spaces created in that house that could be used as bedrooms, could be used as living spaces and [allow] different occupants over time.

"That's likely to be a project that ends up having a lower carbon footprint in the future."

The Narrabundah house architect Michael Tolhurst said the win was a "pleasant surprise."

"The next bite of the cherry [in low-carbon housing] is the embodied carbon, and that's arguably the best way to make short-term improvements to our carbon emissions," he said.

"Making some different choices about the materials and the way we design houses, building smaller, they're all things that makes instant changes and reduce carbon straightway. Otherwise it becomes too late."

Mr Henry said Canberrans building new homes should try and keep them reasonably sized and create adaptable rooms.

"Consider building a smaller [house], and making spaces able to be adjusted and modified ... [for example] having the ability to turn a living space into a bedroom space or into a study space."

For those renovating a house, installing double glazed windows, using sustainable materials such as timber, and re-orientating rooms to make windows face north would help reduce carbon impact.

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He advised every homeowner to install solar panels; home builders or renovators should hire an architect to save money in the long run.

"Always consider putting on solar on a house," he said.

"We still have a majority of houses in new suburbs being designed without the skillset of an architect.

"The money invested in an architect is almost like putting solar panels on your roof. There's a payback period. And it's a critically important thing for the environment for us to stop thinking that we should be building houses fast and cheap and for the quickest profit to the developer.

"Affordability doesn't mean fast or cheap."