About

Welcome to a 4-session ONLINE series brought to you by Natural Building Australia devoted to all things sustainable design and building.

In this series we bring together 4 professionals working in and around the industry who will talk and answer your questions, one each week for 4 weeks as we cover questions such as:

What makes a home sustainable and how do we build better housing in the face of increasing climate upheavals?
What is happening across the building and design industry when it comes to actual sustainability and not greenwash?
What can we do to make the process of owner building easier and how do we use more natural materials? What is passiv haus and how difficult is it to build?

This series is aimed towards potential owner builders, those looking to design their own home or people working across the industry looking for ideas and tips.

Sign up for 1 or all 4 sessions as we talk sustainable building and good design.

(Please note you can click on any of the events to access the 4-session pass)

Location

ONLINE ONLY

Webinar Details

What is a natural home?

Natural homes can help look after us into the future, and the planet at the same time.

Natural homes are breathable, maintain a stable temperature and often designed in conjunction with passive-solar design principles, which means they use less carbon-intensive energy and more natural energy from the sun, wind, and cooling effects at night. They say that passive homes need active people, and to reduce our individual and collective footprint, we need to look at how unsustainable our houses really are and start designing and managing our own comfort over pushing a button.

What is this series?

If you’ve been dreaming of a comfortable, safe and healthy home or property where you can design your future to maximise your budget, skills, network and opportunity then this is the webinar series for you.

Sustainable Building 101 is a 4-session webinar that will bring together sustainability experts, designers and planners who have worked for years in and around the industry in a series that will cover a range of topics and issues for you to consider when planning out your dream project.

In the vein of speed-dating a sustainability expert, we are bringing together a range of experts who work in and around natural materials and can speak to their benefits, opportunities and the way you can incorporate more passive features into your home.  There will be a presentation each week on a different topic and an opportunity to ask questions of our experts.

This series is hosted by Dr Rachel Goldlust, a qualified planner, researcher and experienced natural builder who has been working in and around sustainable housing for over 15 years. Rachel has worked hands-on on several natural homes across Australia and internationally, and brings a planning and research perspective to her current work at Renew where she researches all aspects of energy efficiency, household sustainability and public policy across the building, planning and housing sectors.

February 8: Week 1 - Introduction to sustainable design principles and home building using natural materials with Alvyn Williams, Soft Loud House Architects.

How do natural materials fit into good design and planning? What are the pros and cons of working with natural materials, and what can the industry be doing to make it easier for clients to access?

February 15th: Week 2 - Sustainable Building industry - tips and tricks with Anna Cumming, Sanctuary Magazine and Renew.

What are some of the pitfalls and problems owner builders and clients face? What is happening within the sustainability and design industry that people should be aware of?

February 22nd: Week 3 - Building passively and cleverly with Talina Edwards, Envirotecture.

What does the passive house movement bring to sustainable design? What are the benefits of a sealed envelope in the Australian climate and how do natural materials play into best practice design?

February 29th: Week 4 - DIY building, budgets  and natural materials with Kirstie Wulf, Shelter Building Design

How can potential homebuilders reduce the costs of their sustainable build? What are the options for using natural materials and community labour? What are the benefits of owner building vs hiring a builder?

Join us for 1 or all 4 fascinating sessions where we go deep with professionals across the sustainable building industry and tap their experience, knowledge and insights for your future build.

Our professionals

Anna Cumming - Editor, Sanctuary magazine.

Anna Cumming is a writer, editor and communications professional with a longstanding interest in the built environment, in particular the design of sustainable, energy efficient and comfortable homes that tread lightly on the earth. She has held a variety of communications roles at national not-for-profit Renew since 2010, and in 2019 took over as Managing Editor of 'Sanctuary: modern green homes' - Australia's premier magazine dedicated to sustainable house design. She loves being part of the mission to inspire and educate people about the design strategies, materials and systems available to achieve truly sustainable, delightful homes.

Talina Edwards - Envirotecture

Talina is passionate about creating healthy, beautiful, functional, comfortable and sustainable architecture which combines building-science and biophilic-design. Biophilia is about our intuitive connection to nature, where the health and wellbeing of people and planet are inextricably linked. This ethos extends to our purpose to ‘care for country’ and cultivate a living future for all.

Talina has over 25 years’ experience in Architectural practice, is a registered Architect in Victoria, and is a Director of Envirotecture. She has gained recognition as an industry leader, known for her sustainable architecture and as a passionate advocate for building a better future.

Kirstie Wulf – Shelter Building Design

Kirstie’s journey in the realm of design was ignited by a fascination with natural building materials and a passion for sustainability. This took her down a path of innovation and led to her becoming one of the leading proponents of Hempcrete building in Australia. Based in the high bushfire risk area of the Blue Mountains in NSW, she has specialized in creating buildings that are not just aesthetically pleasing but are also resilient in the face of Australia's high bushfire risk. Her unwavering commitment to sustainable and functional design, as well as her blend of artistic flair and technical expertise, has resulted in spaces that not only captivate the eye but also enhance the lives of those who inhabit them. 

Alvyn Williams – Soft Loud House Architects

Alvyn Williams is based in coastal regional Victoria. He seeks to engage clients and communities in a values-driven dialogue, creating deeply responsive places. Alvyn develops an empathic response to place, directing structure to mirror, merge and converse with landscape in a manner both soft and alive. His projects champion low consumption of energy and resources, combined with permaculture and regenerative design practices. 

Join us for one or all 4 events. All recordings will be made available following the webinar.