Building them clean, green
Newcastle Herald
Saturday March 26, 2011
SUSTAINABILITY is becoming increasingly important and the emphasis is on working towards a cleaner and greener environment.Landcom has partnered with Clarendon Homes to build three eco-living display homes in Sydney's north-west.The homes have innovative sustainability concepts and designs.Featured are materials and products that should reduce the environmental impact of a project home while integrating best practice design principles.- The Benchmark Home will show how a typical BASIX-compliant home, with a little extra attention to design, materials and operations, can perform at levels well beyond BASIX. The current requirements in NSW are BASIX 40 for both energy and water. Landcom is aiming higher, with a target for this home of a BASIX score of 60 for energy and 70 for water.- The Greencycle Home will feature building products that have a high recycle content, together with products that are capable of being recycled at the end of the building's life.The materials used in the Greencycle Home will give new-home builders and those doing renovations some practical suggestions on how to choose materials with a minimal impact on the environment, both during construction and also throughout the home's life.- The Net-Zero Home aims to be self-sufficient in energy, water and waste management. This Net-Zero home will challenge the way the industry thinks about homes.It will be smaller and smarter, modest in proportions but ambitious in its intent. It will have leading-edge design and technologies, display these innovations to the industry and help bring them into mainstream industry practice.Each home will be built and launched to the public throughout the year.The Benchmark is due to open in July, the Greencycle in Spring, and the Net-Zero late in the year.
© 2011 Newcastle Herald
