Posts Tagged ‘housing’
Earthship Biotecture Seminar Melbourne: “Sustainable Autonomy for Everyone” S.A.F.E.
Posted in Events, Models, Movements by Kate Archdeacon on January 11th, 2012
| 17 February , 2012 10:00 am | to | 20 February , 2012 3:00 pm |
An Earthship is a radically sustainable home made of recycled materials.
This three day Earthship Biotecture Seminar will be led by Earthship creator Michael Reynolds and cover a wide range of Earthship topics both pragmatic and philosophical.
Guest appearance and presentation by Martin Freney, PhD Candidate School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design University of Adelaide. Martin Freney will present scientific data to substantiate Earthship performance. Attendees achieve credit toward the Australian Earthship Biotecture Academy.
February 17th, 18, 19th, – 2012 Village Roadshow Theatrette @ State Library of Victoria
Tickets: http://earthship.com/australia
Limited seating available. Advance purchase recommended.
15 Student discount tickets available – $300 each.
Friday February 17th
- 10:00am – 12:00pm History of Earthships discussion/presentation of how and why they evolved.
- 2:00pm – 5:00pm Solar/Thermal dynamics: discussion/presentation of how the Earthships heat and cool themselves and how this is integrated with the structure and climate.
Saturday February 18th
- 10:00am – 12:00pm Custom Earthships: discussion/presentation on custom Earthships and how to design them.
- 2:00pm – 5:00pm Earthship Systems: discussion/presentation of specific details of the Earthship Systems independent power, water, sewage and food production.
Sunday February 19th
- 10:00am – 12:30pm Earthship Disaster Relief projects around the world discussion/presentation of how Earthships are evolved by? these projects.
- 1:00pm – 3:00pm Types of Earthships – discussion/presentation of the various types of Earthships and how to get started on your own.
earthship.com/australia
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Energy, Transport, Housing & Summer Reading for the PM: Grattan Podcasts
Posted in Opinion, Research by Kate Archdeacon on December 22nd, 2011
Source: Grattan Institute
Australia’s energy future was considered in a seminar series that Grattan Institute ran jointly this year with the Melbourne Energy Institute. Webcasts are available for the final two seminars on the future of solar power and transport.
Grattan’s report Getting the housing we want was launched on November 21 by Cities Program Director Jane-Frances Kelly in conversation with former Victorian Premier, John Brumby. Transcripts and recordings of the launch are available, as is the report.
Every year Grattan Institute produces its Summer Reading List for the Prime Minister. The list contains books and articles that we found stimulating and a pleasure to read, and that we believe the PM, or indeed any Australian, should read over the break. Watch the launch or download the reading list.
www.grattan.edu.au
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Seven Billion: It’s Getting Crowded in Here!
Posted in Events, Opinion, Research by Kate Archdeacon on October 7th, 2011
| 12 October , 2011 | ||
| 6:15 pm | to | 7:30 pm |
Photo by bricoleurbanism via flickr CC
High density living is great for the environment, right? But what does it do to our heads and hearts? The Australian psyche was moulded by the myth of the ‘wide brown land’, so what might life packed like sardines look and feel like? With the world’s seven billionth person is about to be born, can we learn from the Asian megacity experience? And will we still be sharing a cup of sugar with our neighbours? As the population debate gets mental, we’re going in search of the soul in urban sprawl.
Hosted by Natasha Mitchell and featuring Kim Dovey, Helen Killmier, Bernard Salt and Sein-Way Tan.
Presented in partnership with ABC Radio National. Free event, bookings highly recommended.
The Wheeler Centre, 6:15PM – 7:30PM, Wednesday 12 October 2011
http://wheelercentre.com/calendar/event/seven-billion-it-s-getting-crowded-in-here/
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Carlton Eco-Neighbourhood Launched
Posted in Models, Movements by Kate Archdeacon on September 27th, 2011
Photo: Jackson Architecture
Article by Kate Archdeacon:
Stage One of the redevelopment of part of the Carlton Housing Estate into the Carlton Eco-Neighbourhood was officially launched last Friday. The result of collaboration between residents, local action groups, architects, developers, the City of Melbourne, the Department of Human Services and Environment Victoria, the buildings incorporate environmentally efficient design. Natural lighting and ventilation, solar access and solar hot water, as well as water-saving systems that recycle water and capture rainwater all combine to reduce the carbon footprint of residents.
A potential demonstration project for many of the Eco-City principles mentioned by Cr Cathy Oke at the launch, the Eco-Neighbourhood is seen as an opportunity to combine technology with community-building to get to grips with a real-world test case for sustainable living in a Melbourne neighbourhood. The 174 apartments are a combination of public and private housing, and Environment Victoria is recruiting residents to train as Eco Champions, spreading information and practical examples of sustainable behaviour in a variety of languages and cultures. Charlie Davie from Environment Victoria explained that in the average Victorian household, the biggest energy uses tend to be heating, cooling and hotwater, but the careful design of these apartments means that the true gains in efficiency will be in the way residents choose and use their appliances. Eco Champions will be given test packs including Future Switches and microfibre cleaning cloths to try out for themselves as part of the training.
Residents have only started moving into the apartments in the last two months, so the community side of the project is still in early stages. It will be fascinating to see how the Eco Champion program progresses over time, since it’s clear that building design is only part of the equation for reducing occupants’ carbon footprints. The complex issues of choice, habit and long-term commitment to behaviour change are the reality that decides whether projects like these become reference points in the shift towards sustainable living that is so urgent.
www.environmentvictoria.org.au/carlton-eco-neighbourhood
http://carlton.vic.au/news/eco-carlton-neighbourhood-project/
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Changing Places: Responsive housing, mobility systems, and networked intelligence for future cities
Posted in Events, Research, Visions by Kate Archdeacon on July 7th, 2011
| 22 July , 2011 | ||
| 6:15 pm | to | 7:15 pm |
CityHome Image, © Daekwon Park for MIT Media Lab
Changing Places: Responsive housing, mobility systems, and networked intelligence for future cities
Professor Kent Larson, Director of the Changing Places Research Group, MIT Media Lab
To meet the profound sustainability, demographic, and health challenges of the future, new strategies must be found for creating responsive places where people live and work, and the mobility systems that connect them.
Professor Kent Larson will present the work of his MIT Media Lab research group to explore the intersection of high-performance housing with urban mobility-on-demand systems, including persuasive electric bike-lane vehicles to encourage exercise, the transformable live-work “CityHome” that functions as if it were much larger, and autonomous parking/charging technology. He will also review the group’s “Living Lab” experiments to better understand and respond to human activity in natural environments including sensing, algorithms, and interfaces for proactive health and energy conservation.
Friday 22 July 2011
6.15pm-7.15pm
Prince Philip Theatre
Ground Floor, Architecture Building
The University of Melbourne
To RSVP or to find out more about the lecture, go to the Melbourne School of Design site.
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The Housing We’d Choose: Grattan Report
Posted in Movements, Research by Kate Archdeacon on July 6th, 2011
The Housing We’d Choose explores the relationship between the housing we want, and the housing we have. The report presents original research on the housing preferences of Australians. A representative sample of over 700 residents in Sydney and Melbourne was asked to make real-world housing choices, limited by their budgets. The housing they chose was a much more varied mix than either city currently provides. In particular, the research suggests significant shortfalls of semi-detached housing and apartments in the middle and outer areas of both cities.
The second part of the report examines recent construction trends and argues that there are barriers to delivering more of the housing people say they want. These disincentives include the cost of materials and labour for buildings over four storeys, land assembly and preparation, and the risk and uncertainty of our planning systems, especially in Victoria.
A subsequent Grattan report will recommend changes to the design of the housing market in order to provide people with more of the homes they say they want. Download a Copy of the Main Report
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Sustainability On Show: Building & Home Improvement Expo
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on July 1st, 2011
| 15 July , 2011 | ||
| 16 July , 2011 | ||
| 17 July , 2011 |
Sustainability On Show within this year’s Building & Home Improvement Expo, on from 15 – 17 July 2011 at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre will offer visitors not only the broadest array of the latest products and technologies available, it will also provide a forum in which you can learn from experts and gain insight into the best sustainable investments for your home.
At the Building & Home Improvement Expo visitors will have the unique opportunity to discover 100s of manufacturers and suppliers of renewable energy technologies, solar water & solar power technology, grey water systems, heating & cooling systems, energy conservation technologies, insulation, glazing, home energy auditors, water harvesting, carbon reduction technology & more.
Sustainability highlights include:
- Modern Methods of Construction
- Housing Sustainability Pyramid
- Sustainability Hot Spot
- Free Seminars including 10 Star Challenge; Maximising your ‘Green Cred’; and Sustainability Cost Justified
15-17 July 2011
Melbourne Exhibition Centre
www.buildexpo.com.au/events/sustainability-on-show
The Housing We’d Choose: Grattan Report Launch
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on June 20th, 2011
| 27 June , 2011 | ||
| 5:45 pm | to | 7:00 pm |
Image: monkeyc.net via flickr CC
Ask Australians what kind of home they want, and odds are they will say a detached house on a big block. The new report from the Grattan Cities Program, The Housing We’d Choose, shows that when residents are asked to make real-world trade-offs between housing and location, the picture is far more varied. The report examines both what Australians say they want from housing in their cities, and the incentives that make it difficult for new construction to meet this demand. Come and hear Grattan Cities Program Director Jane-Frances Kelly in conversation with John Daley on the challenges to Australian cities and governments presented by The Housing We’d Choose.
Monday 27 June 2011
Registration at 5:45 pm Seminar 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm
The Wheeler Centre 176 Little Lonsdale Street Melbourne VIC 3000
For further information please telephone 03 8344 3637 or visit our website at www.grattan.edu.au
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Australia’s Premier Handbook on Sustainable Homes Design
Posted in Research, Visions by sashashtargot on May 9th, 2011
From the Passive Design Section: Solar shading in Summer and heating in Winter using trees or eaves.
The updated fourth edition of Your Home Technical Manual is now available.
Your Home is a thorough compendium with 340 pages of environmentally sustainable solutions for designing and building a home. For people who are building, buying or renovating, it shows how to make a more comfortable home that has less impact on the environment – one that will also be more economical, healthier to live in and adaptable to changing needs.
A project of the Federal Government in collaboration with the building and design industry, Your Home is written by architects, designers and builders and edited by award-winning architect Paul Downton. The fourth edition has updates on insulation, lighting and solar hot water.
Your Home is a comprehensive guide to:
- Building with sustainable materials
- Passive solar design
- Designing and building for your climate
- How to collect and save water
- Insulation products and installation
- Shading and ventilation
- Energy-saving appliances
- Solar hot water
- Energy-efficient lighting
- Renewable energy for home
The manual is available for download (section by section) from the yourhome.gov.au website. Hard copies are available for purchase from The Alternative Technology Association’s Online Shop or contact the Alternative Technology Association (ATA) on (03) 9631 5401.
Your Home Technical Manual is distributed by the ATA, Australia’s leading not-for-profit organisation promoting renewable energy, green building and water saving in the home.
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Refit n’ Save in Ballarat
Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on March 10th, 2011
Source: BREAZE
Refit your home to become more sustainable without costing the earth!
There’s never been a better time to update your home, thanks to the Refit n’ Save project being run in Ballarat in 2011. When you sign up to the Refit n’ Save network you can access free advice, monthly workshops and discounted products through local suppliers, to make your home more comfortable, more affordable and more sustainable. Whether you’re looking for advice about the right kind of hot water system, or the best way to draught-proof your home, the Refit n’ Save network can put you on the right track.
Refit n’ Save launches in Ballarat with a free Energy Smart Solar Electricity workshop on March 16 – where network members will have the chance to purchase solar systems at reduced prices! That’s followed up with a FREE DIY Energy Smart Workshop on March 24. Simon Reid will take participants through quick, easy, low-cost or no-cost DIY actions that will make your home more energy efficient – reducing your energy bills and your pollution.
Visit the Breaze website for more information or to register. http://breaze.org.au
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