Green Magazine #79 May-June 2021

Our lives have been altered over the last year and we have learnt to adjust to this new way of living. In our homes, the spaces we used for one activity may now accommodate multiple, kids may have returned home and our kitchens are a hive of activity. What we have noticed is that during this time of upheaval, a trend has emerged. People are looking for more flexibility in the design of their homes; they are interested in homes that can adapt. That’s the theme of this issue. Architects Austin Maynard were called on to rework an existing cottage and design a small secondary dwelling on a suburban block to enable a multi-generational arrangement with a shared library/dining hall/guest room and a large productive garden in-between. In Tasmania, Plain Architecture’s family…

Recipe Melbourne’s anaca studio has mastered the recipe for style and substance. The Toulouse sofa range is the perfect balance between slick modern lines and casual cushioning that surely makes it as lovely to behold as it is to sit on. anacastudio.com.au Gentle For Perth-based Siân Boucherd, using a coiling basketry technique to hand-craft vessels invites a “gentle footprint approach”. Siân elaborates: “The beauty of basketry is that the natural gums and resins that might normally be stripped from the fibre by chemical means are actually embraced … the story of the materials, their rawness and their origin is embodied in a highly tactile form that speaks to us deeply of place.” sianboucherd.com Upcycled This South Melbourne Market stall is a shoe store completely made from recycled shipping pallets. Working to a brief that stipulated…

V-ZUG produces luxury kitchen and laundry appliances that are globally renowned whilst proudly representing local Swiss values. What does it mean to be Swiss, you might ask? Managing Director of V-ZUG Australia, Nic Naes has the answer: “Design, precision, innovation, details,” Nic reflects. “A sustainability focus is also quite inherent in being a Swiss business.” It’s these values that have guided and inspired V-ZUG since its inception as a small family business over 100 years ago. Founded and still headquartered in the Swiss city of Zug, the company remains faithful to its origins starting with its very name: the “V” for the German Verzinkerei (meaning galvanising plant) and “ZUG” in honour of its beloved home. Since entering the international market in more recent years, V-ZUG has set itself apart with its high-quality…

If you ever questioned the meaning of the phrase ‘all that’s old is new again’, have a chat with Robbie Neville and we bet you’ll come away feeling inspired. Managing Director of Melbourne-based multidisciplinary sustainable practice Revival Projects, Robbie’s mission is to “take repurposing to a new level” – and in just over a year since it officially started, major players in the design and construction industries are already jumping on board. Robbie’s profound respect for building materials can be traced back to his childhood in a small town called Falmouth, in Cornwall, England. “Dad is a builder/master craftsman,” Robbie remembers. “My earliest memories are of tinkering in his workshop with him, learning how to use and respect the tools, and work with timber from a very young age.” Those formative days…

Retirement Take One didn’t work out as Belinda envisaged. After a big job and 10 years in Fitzroy, 28 acres in the Otways felt right initially. But when her daughter and partner returned to Melbourne to start a family after years in New York, she reconsidered her plans to make a home in the bush and grow food with help from her city-based son Owen and daughter-in-law Caitlin. The pair work in hospitality and horticulture respectively and share Belinda’s passion for growing their own food. Retirement Take Two’s a keeper. Inspired in part by Austin Maynard’s award-winning Tower House in Abbotsford – which eschews the usual up-and-out renovation for a series of pavilions that read externally as a village but internally as a home – Belinda pitched Owen and Caitlin the…

Architect Austin Maynard Architects maynardarchitects.com Builder Terracotta House and library pavilion: Spence Construction Renovation to the original house: Sargant Construction Passive energy design The compound comprises three buildings: two dwellings and a shared library space. Dwellings are oriented so the living spaces face north. The old house was reconfigured internally, moving bedrooms from the north-facing front to the rear. Northern oriented windows use fixed awnings, shade structures or shutters to control summer sun. West-facing windows use shutters. Southern and western windows are kept to a minimum. New buildings feature cross ventilation for passive cooling and concrete floor slabs with hydronic heating coils. These act as thermal mass to capture heat from the sun and heating to slowly radiate into the room during the evening. Communal living increases density on a small scale and offers residents multiple benefits:…