Following on from his successful web video series and online project Josh’s House, sustainable expert Josh Byrne presents a new series: “Josh’s House STAR PERFORMERS”.
Josh is embarking upon a unique national research tour that will bring together the best high-performance housing projects from around the country.
Josh’s House STAR PERFORMERS looks to engage in a national conversation about the future of our housing and the demand for more energy efficient solutions while not forgetting the importance of designing homes that are comfortable, good for our health, hip pockets and our future.
Zero Emission House
‘I wanted to start the tour in Melbourne because it’s under real pressure from massive population growth and sprawling urban development. To me, energy-efficient home design should be a priority. The house I am visiting is a CSIRO project that was completed in 2010, it ticks the boxes for being a part of the star performers tour because it is a good example of an affordable and accessible high performance home and importantly, they are collecting the data to prove that it works.’ Josh Byrne
CSR House
CSR House is a comprehensive research project like Josh has never seen before, undertaken by one of Australia’s biggest building products manufacturers. The house has been constructed on the site of a brick factory and is a true research laboratory, so what can it tell us? That’s what Josh will be finding out on this part of his journey.
Innovation House
Josh meets Darren Finlay, owner of the second-generation Finlay Homes, and his family in Townsville northern Queensland. Darren was tired of the multiple questions surrounding sustainability and frustrated by the lack of answers and so he decided to embark on his own journey and built a new display home jam-packed with as many energy saving, green options and ideas he could find. It was open to the public for 12 months and the response was incredible with thousands of people visiting and uniquely often staying for hours.
Now Darren and his family have moved into the home to really test out their ‘sustainable claims’ and with monitoring facilities in the house Josh will be able to discover just what a well-designed high-performance home can achieve in the tropics. So, why aren’t we seeing more of them?
Pilbara Vernacular House
The Pilbara Vernacular House is a showcase project led by the WA Government developer Landcorp that aims to inspire considered approaches to climate and socially responsive design in the region.
Designed by Perth-based architects Gresley Abbas and built by Eaton Building, the Pilbara Vernacular House is located in Madigan Estate, Karratha. The 8 Star NatHERS rated home incorporates a range of innovative design features, flexible living spaces and technologies for improved comfort, liveability, and environmental performance.
It’s an unconventional, yet highly practical house comprised of a protected, enclosed air-conditioned internal living area surrounded by sheltered external living spaces. Deep eaves shield windows and walls from heat gain, and breezeways allow air flow around the house to promote air circulation and comfort. ‘Wind scoops’ and ‘wind blades’ help to capture and direct cooling breezes into the building.
Lochiel Park PART 1
After visiting four of Australia’s most inspiring high-performance homes in the first four episodes of Josh’s House Star Performers, Josh now looks at an awesome large scale development. In amongst typical suburbia, Adelaide’s Lochiel Park is a model green village based on high-performance housing design guidelines. The 15-hectare site is a former TAFE college that was originally earmarked for a typical suburban housing development. Now the area is two-thirds parkland with native species and storm water wetlands with 106 residences in a medium density lay-out. Every house has a minimum 7 and a half star NatHERS rating and was designed and built within strict energy and water efficiency guidelines.
Lochiel Park PART 2
In this episode, Josh continues his investigation into this project and looks into the research data to see if it proves
beyond a doubt whether homes and suburbs like these are cheaper to run, good for the environment and better for our health and wellbeing. Featuring interviews with the team from the Sustainable Energy Engineering Department of the University of South Australia and much more, the final episode in this groundbreaking series will have you asking yourself, what is the plan for the future of housing in Australia?
