Category: Sustainability
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148 Designing for your climate
Graham Hunt goes into a lot of detail when researching the local climate that will impact the comfort of a home. Designing for your climate includes an analysis of both the macro – the temperature, rainfall and humidity of the region, but also the micro – the local wind, shading and exposure of a particular site.…
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146 Can you afford an architect?
Angus Crowe of True North Architects believes that you definitely can afford an architect. In fact, you can’t afford not to have one. Learning from the Tropics The tropics might seem a world away from very cold climates, but these regions do share one trait – they both required good design in order to achieve…
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142 Bamboo is Sustainable
Bamboo Technologies, LLC (Bamboo Living) design and manufacture structurally certified bamboo homes. Founded in 1995, Bamboo Technologies has produced over 350 homes in Hawaii and around the world. I spoke with founder David Sands about why bamboo is sustainable and a great building material. Bamboo is Sustainable The speed at which it grows is a key reason why…
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Eco Christmas Gift Ideas
Back in 2012 Sam Judd gave his ‘top ten eco-friendly gifts‘ for Christmas. Here’s my updated list of eco Christmas gift ideas to make your home (or someone else’s) a better place to live. Eco Christmas Tips Christmas time is a great time to be around family and to do some projects around the house. My…
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141: Are Passive House and Green Building Relevant in a Temperate Climate?
I love Rich Williams’ enthusiasm for what he does. Even if you don’t live in the temperate climate of San Diego, you can learn a lot about the relevance of concepts like Passive House for a better performing home. Alliance Green Builders are dedicated to ‘building tomorrow’s homes for today’. As well as being Passive…
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140 What happens when eco becomes mainstream?
Marketing can be used in an ‘evil’ way, but Kristy Hoare always wanted to use her marketing skills for good. She’s done this by helping to promote products that she believes can me the world better. As solar power and eco homes become more mainstream, it’s increasingly important to have somewhere to find unbiased information, and that’s…
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139: The Future of Green Design
The terms ‘sustainability’ and ‘eco’ are not obvious on Adam Taylor’s website. They are there (see if you can find them). But perhaps the future of green design is embedded in good design. Not something separate. Homestar Practitioner Among other things, Adam is a Homestar Practitioner. There’s nothing particularly special about this nowadays, except when you…
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135 How to Create A Life More Sustainable
Sydney based firm, PIDCOCK – Architecture and Sustainability is focused on desirable, sustainable architecture. I love the tagline displayed proudly on their site – ‘a life more sustainable’. Caroline Pidcock Director, Caroline Pidcock was heading for a career as an engineer but says she fell in love with architecture, almost by accident and has loved the…
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134: The 10 Principles of One Planet Living
From selling cloth nappies and raising money for Greenpeace in her local community, Sue Riddlestone is now literally taking on the world. Through her organisation, Bioregional, Sue has consulted to the UK Prime Minister and the UN on sustainability and climate change policies. Sue’s work on the sustainability policy for the 2012 Olympic Game, work…
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133: Greenbuilders
Polly Bart loves to get muddy. Despite having an undergraduate degree in architecture and a doctorate in city planning, Polly is not an architect. She’s a builder and founder of Greenbuilders, Inc. She loves creating, lifting rock and building things. In fact, she loves it so much, she can’t understand why everyone doesn’t want to build things!…