Part 3 — The Built Environment as a Living System

When people think about buildings, the focus often falls on structure, materials, and appearance. Yet the influence of the built environment extends far beyond the walls of any individual building.

Part 2 — The Economics We Don’t Always See

I’ve been thinking about how much our built environment shapes daily life. Across Australia the rising cost of living has become a central concern for many households. Conversations often focus on interest rates, fuel prices, or inflation. Yet one of the most significant household expenses is rarely discussed in the same way. The cost of running the home itself.

Let's start with the Basics of the BASIX Requirements, and when you need a BASIX Certificate.

A 7 star NatHERS rating is now the minimum standard for most new homes in Australia.

Why Are Building Costs Rising?

With the new NatHERs minimum set to change to a 7-star energy rating, you may be wondering how to go about building a new house that meets the target. 

With climate change being at the forefront of challenges we must begin to address, we have to reconcile with adapting our lives to the state of the world we live in. From buying tote bags and metal straws to reducing meat consumption, much of the actions we are to personally take are often cumbersome. It hurts my soul to limit my steak burrito intake to once a week! Unlike most of these personal adjustments, however, adopting a Passive House Design layout for your home would not only improve your living standards but come with a myriad of benefits for homeowners and landlords alike!

Building for the Australian Climate.

A building’s access to sunlight is one of the leading factors contributing to its thermal comfort, with the amount of direct sunlight that the building receives greatly influencing the passive heating and cooling factors. However, as the sun’s path varies seasonally, accounting for the required direct sunlight a building needs becomes difficult. The eaves of building construction can maintain great benefits if used correctly.

The Victorian Residential Efficiency Scorecard is a program which rates the energy performance of residential homes on a 10 star ranking system and provides recommendations to home owners to reduce energy costs. The Scorecard provides an energy assessment with consideration of fixed heating and cooling appliances, hot water systems, window orientation and general structure of the home.