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With an energy rating of 8.2 Stars and annual energy bills of just $500, the first homes built at a new coastal estate in Victoria are raising the bar on performance and affordability.

WORDS Fiona Negrin PHOTOGRAPHY Warren Reed

A FAMILY HOME WITHIN WALKING a project that is state-of-the-art, pulling distance of the beach, with an 8.2-Star together the best sustainable housing energy rating and a build price of $330,000: design and appliances”. The Cutlers display it sounds like a wishlist, not a reality. But home pulls focus on Brendan’s vision, and this house, called Cutlers, is one of 200 functions as an exemplar of mainstream, similar proposed dwellings in a zero-carbon environmentally residential development project that’s that’s affordable, cutting-edge and, most breaking rich new ground in Australia. unusually, open for public inspections. The Cape is an ecovillage being built “During the recent Sustainable House Day in the small coastal township of Cape about 350 people came to visit – it was mind Paterson, about 130km south-east of blowing!” says Cutlers builder and Cape Melbourne. Cutlers is a three-bedroom, Paterson local, Tony O’Connell. And no single-storey house created by Beaumont wonder. The opportunity to inspect a house Concepts especially for The Cape, and is the with such strong environmental credentials Wonthaggi designer’s second project in the is not an everyday one. estate. The first stage release of 32 Cutlers stays true to first principles of is now open and a display model of Cutlers passive solar design, including northern has been built for prospective buyers to frontages to let in winter sun, and inspect. substantial insulation (including R6.0 in the Brendan Condon, whose background is ceiling) to retain it; windows strategically in sustainable landscaping, is The Cape’s located to channel cooling breezes through developer. His vision – which has been living areas in summer; and thermal mass germinating since 2003 – is “to design to moderate the inside temperature.

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x With all living spaces located to the north, Cutlers is naturally lit and requires minimal heating and cooling. The cladding is a combination of Weathertex, Colorbond and silvertop ash board and batten features, chosen for their durability and environmental ratings.

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j The earth blocks for the walls were made Thermal mass is provided through the Cutlers are derived from an estate-wide set on-site using five types of local soils bound concrete slab floor, and also in unique, of sustainable design guidelines, drafted with cement. In addition to providing pressed-earth feature walls in the living and overseen by a design review panel thermal mass benefits, the walls introduce a area. The earth blocks for the walls were with the aim to ‘bake in’ sustainability and striking natural texture and colour made on-site using five types of local integrity to the project. These guidelines complement to the largely light and bright granitic soils bound with cement, and are concerned with house siting and interior. pressed in a hydraulic block press made orientation, architectural style and built by Briagolong Engineering, based on a form, landscaping and sustainability. More machine handmade by long-time ATA specifically, they include restrictions on member (and Brendan’s friend) John house size, a minimum energy rating of 7.5 Hermans. Brendan praises the walls for Stars and requirements for at least 2.5kW their “cheap, environmentally friendly solar PV and 10,000 litres of rainwater thermal mass, with wonderful texture and storage. The entire site is all-electric colour,” while Tony describes them as a real (no gas) and includes charge points for character feature. “One lady came in to talk electric vehicles. The Cape’s ambitious to me about building a house and the whole standards far outpace business-as-usual time we spoke, she sat with her hand on the developments, and Cutlers is its flagship, wall! She’s gone ahead and wants that exact with a 173 square-metre floor size, 8.2 Star colour in her place.” energy rating and 4.5kW PV system. The size, orientation and key specs for ATA’s policy manager Damien Moyse

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x The fully-electric and practical kitchen in the Cutlers display home is located close to an edible garden to the south, has a large pantry for food storage and water-efficient fittings.

j The bedrooms and living spaces are naturally lit, with all but one bedroom oriented to the north. “It’s an amalgamation of small incremental change that goes into making it a much better product,” says the builder.

did energy modelling for The Cape and his reserved for revegetated parklands, food “up in arms when we first heard about findings indicate that Cutlers’ operational gardens and walking and cycling paths. the proposed Cape development. The costs could be as low as $500 a year. “This Brendan sees urban food production as developer [Brendan Condon] got wind of compares to a typical Victorian house’s having both social and environmental our opposition and came down to talk to us annual energy costs of between $2000 and benefits, providing opportunities for people about his proposal. I was part of the lynch $3000 a year, according to the Australian to “socialise, exercise and reduce the cost mob prepared to string him up but within Bureau of Statistics,” he said. of living”, and to “turn green waste into about three minutes he had me on side.” Such low running costs are due in valuable compost and food”. The communal Today, Tad is passionate and articulate part to the house’s passive solar design, food gardens, of which a quarter are already about The Cape project, ticking off its focus which retains a comfortable indoor built, incorporate rainwater collection on “sustainable housing, mass take-up temperature year-round with little need and an innovative underground watering of PV, reclaiming remnant heathland, for active heating or cooling. Playing a system, locally produced compost, in-house good building design with passive solar crucial supporting role to the design are seed propagation and ergonomic raised principles, community gardens harnessed the house’s, energy-efficient appliances. wicking beds. Brendan estimates that these to water tanks, walking tracks and open These include a Daikin Ururu Sarara 7-star gardens when fully completed will produce spaces,” all of which he sees as “a better way split system in the living area, a Sanden hot $130,000 worth of food annually. than the business-as-usual, cookie-cutter water heat pump, LED lighting throughout Tad Hendry has bought into The approach to the built environment.” Tad the house and water-saving taps, showers, Cape and plans to build a house of his adds: “If you’re going to have a housing toilets and dishwasher. own design. He says the close-knit development in your town, this is the way Over half the land area at The Cape is Cape Paterson community was initially to go. It makes good economic sense and in

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x Large communal food gardens are already in place and providing fresh food for visitors and residents in the neighbouring estate. The garden is expected to produce over $130,000 of food each year when fully constructed.

my point of view it’s going to enhance the local community.” Builder Tony O’Connell says his working practices have changed significantly since he started working at The Cape. “I look at a product now not only from a price point of view,” he says, “but also for its potential for ongoing health problems, and where it has been sourced from.” At Cutlers, he’s used low-formaldehyde E0 board for architraves, skirtings and cabinetry, zero- VOC paints for internal walls and ceilings, FSC-certified timber for the wall frames and GECA-certified plasterboard with recycled content. Waste concrete went into a washdown pit so that reusable materials could be recovered. “There aren’t a lot of big ticket things, it’s an amalgamation of small, incremental change that goes into making it a much better product,” he says modestly. When asked to list a star feature of Cutlers, he doesn’t hesitate. “When you walk into a FLOOR PLAN house that’s been closed up for a couple of days in winter and you don’t need to put a 14 heater on, then it sinks in that this system works if you get it right,” he says. “We’re a 13 long way towards getting it right.”

Over the past 15 years, integrating 1 sustainability into domestic builds has 11 become more affordable, thanks to a 1 2 combination of improved efficiencies and 7 9 lower upfront costs. “In 2003 we thought we’d need to subsidise The Cape to get it over the line,” Brendan reflects. “But since 10 15 3 then conventional and sustainable practice 8 5 6 4 have passed each other like ships in the 12 1 night, with sustainable homes offering lower running costs, higher comfort levels 13 16 and carbon neutral living.” Cutlers is hopefully a sign of an industry at a turning point: moving away from a 1 Bedroom 7 Study 13 Deck/outdoor living legacy of poorly constructed and socially 2 Living 8 Toilet 14 BBQ bench isolated housing estates, towards the best 3 Dining 9 Ensuite 15 Storage in sustainable design and people-centred LEGEND 4 Kitchen 10 Garage 16 Food garden residential developments. 5 Bathroom 11 Entry 6 Laundry 12 Pantry

50 Cutlers —Specifications

Credits Sustainable Features

DESIGNER HOT WATER BUILDING MATERIALS LIGHTING Beaumont Concepts – Sanden Eco hot water heat – Cladding: Weathertex including – LED lighting used throughout. pump system, COP4.5. ExteriorBoard with Platinum BUILDER Greentag certification; PAINTS, FINISHES & FLOOR TS Constructions Pty Ltd RENEWABLE ENERGY Colorbond corrugated iron; COVERINGS – 4.5kW grid-connected Radial Timber silvertop ash – Cabinetry made with E0 PROJECT TYPE photovoltaic system board and batten features medium density fibreboard New build – Trina Honey panels, SMA – Pressed-earth block internal (MDF) Sunny Boy inverter. walls for thermal mass, made – Haymes zero-VOC paint to PROJECT LOCATION from locally sourced material internal walls and ceilings Cape Paterson, VIC WATER SAVING and pressed on-site – Alpine FSC-certified E0 MDF, – 10,000L of rainwater tank – Insulation: Knauf Earthwool low-formaldehyde glue COST storage connected to toilets and R6.0 in ceilings; R2.5 in – Feast Watson natural decking $330,000 for garden use external and all internal walls; oil to exterior woodwork – Outdoor after-beach shower Rhino reflective foil to external – HTC Superfloor concrete SIZE – WELS 4-star rated taps, walls; R1.0 roof blanket under polishing system House 173 m2 (including showers and toilets roofing iron; RMax ThermaSlab – Tuffmaster Allentour 100% garage); – WELS 4.5-star Beko dishwasher high density R1.0 EPS foam wool carpet to bedrooms. Land 536 m2 (12.7 litres per cycle) insulating boards under – Native planting to gardens to concrete slab OTHER ESD FEATURES BUILDING STAR RATING reduce watering. – Caesarstone benchtop with – All appliances, including Beko 8.2 Stars engineered quartz stone, 95% electric oven and induction PASSIVE DESIGN / HEATING & natural stone, 5% resin cooktop, chosen for their COOLING – Mortar (and incidental concrete energy efficiency – Windows to north and south on-site) from Independent – Eco switches used to reduce of rooms aligned to channel Cement and Lime’s Ecoblend, standby loads prevailing summer breezes 30% cement replacement with – Productive vegie garden close through living spaces industrial waste products (slag to kitchen to minimise food – Thermal mass concrete and flyash) miles slab and earth block wall – Ecoblend concrete from – Excavated topsoil from slab to moderate internal Independent Cement used in used on-site rather than temperatures the floor slab with Husqvarna removed – House orientated east-west HIPERFLOOR concrete – Small built footprint for good solar access from the densifier, odourless and VOC- – House designed to run without north in winter, louvres over free polished finish gas or fossil fuels windows for summer shading – Prefabricated FSC certified pine – Located at ‘The Cape’, a – Minimal east and west glazing wall frames and trusses sustainable greenfield – Cross ventilation throughout, – Plasterboard from BGC housing project, with access for rapid purging of any warm Plaster which includes GECA to communal food gardens, air build-up certification and up to 15% revegetated parklands and surf – Substantial insulation and recycled gypsum and 100% beaches double glazing retains winter recycled paper lining. – 15-amp electric vehicle warmth. charging point provided in WINDOWS & GLAZING garage. ACTIVE HEATING & COOLING – Trend thermAL double-glazed, – Daikin Ururu Sarara 7-star split argon-filled and low-e glass system in the living area windows used throughout – 4 Blade Hunter Douglas – Sunex aluminium shade to Intercept Sweep fans to all north windows, blades set bedrooms. at 28°.

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