Project Details

The Challenge

The owners of the house, John Smith and Jillian Miller, both educators, wanted to live in a self-sufficient house. In 1998 they approached architect John Maitland (Energy Architecture) with the main goal of creating an "ESD" (ecologically-sustainable development) house, which (1) is self-sufficient for water, wastes and electricity, (2) uses as much recycled material as possible without spoiling aesthetics or function, and (3) makes best use of the site with minimal damage to it (Smith, 2000).

The design solutions to achieve the above goals include the following strategies. The location for the building on the site was selected based on the considerations that it would allow for maximum northern exposure (the house is called Kawanda Muna, which means 'north in front' in Kaurna, the local language) as well as catching the breeze for natural ventilation with minimum destruction to the site. Space heating energy is reduced by allowing maximum heat through the predominantly northern glazing and storing the heat in the rammed earth walls and exposed concrete floor. No mechanical cooling equipment is installed and summer cooling is provided by natural ventilation and reducing the heat gain with the existing trees, overhang and internal blinds. All walls and roof are insulated, and the building uses a significant amount of recycled materials. The house uses only rain water, heated with a 6sqm solar collector. Organic wastes are collected and processed in an earthworm run Dowmus Biolytic Filter which may be used in the future for fertiliser. A 1kw photovoltaic panel is also installed to produce electricity which can be delivered back to the grid.

Project Information

Building type: Single detached rural

Building area: 123 sqm. (plus 50 sqm of the garage / workshop)

Number of occupants: 2 to 3 people (parents and an 18 year old daughter) - Owner

Occupancy: 7 days per week, 0 to 1 person from 8am to 6pm, 2 to 3 people from 6pm to 8am

Activities carried out within building:
Open living/dining/kitchen: sitting, watching TV, eating, cooking
Bedrooms: sleeping
Study: reading, writing
Services: bathroom, laundry

Number of storeys: 1

Building address: New Norton Summit Road, Norton Summit, South Australia 5136

New/refurbished: New

Building cost: $171,000 (including appliances, fit-outs, curtain, kitchen, wardrobes, garage and rain water tanks) or $125,000 or $1000/sqm (house only) plus $15,000 for photovoltaic panel set up, less $5,000 subsidy. Land value $90,000.

Estimated ongoing operating costs:
Electricity and gas: $200/year
Wood: on site, free

Completion date: November 1999