Small and smart: another new home at the Currumbin Ecovillage showcase the best ESD

“Something small and classy, but cosy,” was the original brief from owner Heike Hamann for this stunning home in the Currumbin hinterland, south-east Queensland. She was previously living near Bright in northeast Victoria, but a craving for warmer weather and a strong interest in sustainability and community led her to build a low impact home in The Ecovillage at Currumbin. The Ecovillage is a rural development with architectural and landscaping codes founded in best practice sustainable design and building processes.

The steep site offered both opportunities and constraints. It contained two clearings and a diverse range of flora and fauna including a mature tallowwood tree, the house’s namesake. A small clearing near the centre of the lot was chosen as the site for the dwelling. To avoid losing any trees, the location dictated that the dwelling would require a compact footprint (only one small sapling eventually required felling).

Heike commissioned architect Rob Norman of Symbiosphere to design her new home. Interior designer Sally Stent ensured that materials used throughout the home were recycled, sourced locally, and had minimal environmental impact. The one problematic aspect of the project was with the builder, who had a basic understanding of sustainable construction but lacked the necessary experience for this project. Heike’s advice for others going down this path is: “Pick a builder who is experienced and knowledgeable in using recycled materials because they can be challenging to work with.”

Integral to the design was the positioning of the service infrastructure to avoid tree root zones. This consisted of two 22,500 litre rainwater tanks and a 10,000 litre tank for fire fighting, on-site wastewater system and irrigation field. To address Heike’s concerns regarding maintaining the purity of the groundwater, the anaerobic on-site wastewater treatment system chosen does not use chlorine.

Heike’s previous house was a mere 65 square metre cottage and she was hoping to keep the new house between 80 and 90 square metres.

The upstairs area was completed at 89 square metres. The small downstairs area currently used as a workshop will eventually become a spare bedroom and office.

The two-bedroom house is light and airy, with a long, thin layout to make the most of the site. Alignment of windows and doors provide at least two views of the landscape from any point in the house. The northern facade includes large windows to maximise winter sun, and smaller windows to southern and western facades ensure privacy from the street and future dwellings. A large open-plan kitchen/dining/living area opens out to a stepped east facing deck with stunning views to the gully and surrounding forest. Due to the clever placement of windows encouraging cross ventilation, there is no need for air conditioning, which, along with electric and wood fired heating, is not allowed in The Ecovillage.

Recycled blockwork walls were rendered with natural clay (with an aggregate of wheaten chaff ), providing excellent thermal mass within the dwelling. In keeping with the theme of recycling, the timber floorboards were originally telegraph poles and were re-milled locally. The stone slab kitchen bench was salvaged. Items of timber furniture in the home were recrafted from pool fencing. The shelving was from a locally culled camphor laurel tree, crafted by a local artisan.

The NatHERS energy rating for the house is 7.5 stars, highlighting the building’s thermal efficiency. A household resource monitoring system allows Heike to assess the mean CO2 emissions/savings per month from realtime feedback on electricity, potable water, recycled water and gas consumption as well as energy generated by the photovoltaic system.

The build took most of nine months, with Heike and her partner moving in just before Christmas last year. They are enjoying being surrounded by nature and the indoor/outdoor lifestyle that the upstairs living area and deck provides. They are also active in community life at The Ecovillage. “I still can’t believe it’s our house and I’m living here,” says Heike, who is clearly thrilled with the outcome.