environmental house design

Brisbane Eco House Designs by dion seminara architecture

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Eco House Designs

Our eco house designs utilise eco-housing principles to design and construct beautiful energy-efficient, sustainable homes.

Brisbane Eco Architects

Eco House Designs

Eco house designs result in amazing homes. At dion seminara architecture we are experienced in using eco-housing principles to create environmentally friendly design that takes advantage of what our climate offers, without compromising on aesthetics. All our eco design elements are perfect for Queensland homes:

  • Breezeways and natural convection
  • Open design for flow-through ventilation
  • Well-orientated living areas
  • Low impact housing footprint
  • Outdoor spaces connecting to main living spaces
  • Drought tolerance
  • Adjustable shading devices for solar protection
  • Wide eaves for controlled solar protection
  • Large covered decks/terraces
  • Inclusion of solar heating, water tanks and greywater recycling systems
  • The inclusion of light coloured surfaces, particularly roofs
  • Adaptability and accessibility for aging/less mobile residents (optional as needed).
Brisbane Eco House Designs by dion seminara architecture
Environmental impact

What is ‘Green’ Living?

At its most basic level, ‘green’ living is the ability to take what we need to live now, without jeopardising the capacity for the next generation to satisfy their needs. In view of this, ‘green’ living is a lifestyle that:

  • Respects all forms of life
  • Minimises usage and wastage of resources
  • Reduces our environmental impact
  • Improves our quality of life

Reducing environmental impacts starts from everyday practices and it’s up to us to decide to incorporate it in our daily lives. This requires a strong shift in our behaviours, attitudes and habits whether in our home, workplace or elsewhere. Moreover, going green at home is often one of the first steps to ‘green’ living. As it is the place where we eat, sleep and spend most of the time with our family, it should be the first thing to which we turn our attention.

The highest concept of green building is passive homes, a design approach which takes advantage of the climate to maintain a comfortable temperature range at home, reducing hot and cold spots. This can eliminate the need for auxiliary heating or cooling which accounts for about 40% of energy use in the average Australian home.

There are enormous benefits that a green building offers.  A house designed by an eco-friendly architect using green principles will tend to be more durable, functional, energy efficient and comfortable than one that is not. Furthermore, it respects the environment, enhances your lifestyle and improves your health. You are not just investing in your house, but for you and your family’s future. If you have decided to take a step towards environmental responsibility, the Australian Government may help you with Australia’s guide to environmentally friendly homes.

Eco house design benefits

Reducing Environmental Impacts Starts With Your Home

Four reasons to go “green” at home

What are the overall benefits and costs of an energy-efficient house? As it is commonly thought that to build “green” is just much more expensive than using a traditional building, we would like to delve deeper into this subject. It is true that a green building costs up to 10% more than a conventional construction but it is also true that all the additional costs can be completely recovered in a period of between 5 to 9 years.

It’s not just about the money

The advantages that derive from having an environmentally-friendly building concern also our health and wellness and the surrounding environment. On this basis, we would like to introduce you to a few benefits of adopting a greenhouse.

Reducing your environmental footprint

Have you ever thought about taking a step towards reducing your environmental footprint? How can you make your lifestyle “greener”? What does this mean? What are the overall benefits and costs of this initiative? This is a hot topic that everyone wants to know more about and for this reason, we will attempt to answer all these questions.

Environment & Financial Impacts

Reduction of Environmental Impacts

First of all, an eco-friendly design can help to respect and preserve the local habitat by integrating the building with the surrounding environment. Conventional buildings consume great quantities of energy, materials and other resources and generate significant greenhouse emissions during their life-cycle. Indeed, it is estimated that they contribute up to 40% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption, 16% of water usage, 30% of solid landfill waste and 40% of raw materials consumption.

By contrast, eco houses are designed with the aim of exploiting the environment and not to destroy it, reaching a balance between the building and the natural environment. They can generate up to 33% less greenhouse emissions by using renewable and recycling building materials, renewable energy sources, natural lighting, and passive cooling and insulation.

Lowering Operating and Maintenance Costs

While initial costs of constructing a green home may be higher than a conventional building, ongoing operating costs will be lower. Indeed, eco-friendly houses save money by reducing energy and water use and by optimising the global usage of resources, especially non-renewable. This aspect should not be underestimated as energy costs are expected to increase in coming next years. International research has confirmed that eco-friendly buildings consume 25-35% less energy than a traditional house. Additionally, if they incorporate water-saving strategies, they can use up to 39% less water. The World Green Building Council’s Business Case for Green Building (2013) finds that a minimal 2% upfront cost to support green design can result in average life cycle savings of 20% of total construction costs, more than 10 times the initial investment.

Liveability & Asset Values

Improvement of Liveability

Studies confirm that a building can negatively affect occupants’ physical health (e.g. asthma and respiratory allergies) through poor air quality, extreme temperatures, excess humidity, and insufficient ventilation and psychological health (e.g.  depression and stress) through inadequate lighting and acoustics. In contrast, a green architect designed house may improve a home’s livability and occupants’ well-being by offering fresh air, natural light, healthy materials and comfortable temperatures.

You can find listed below some of the main benefits that a greenhouse offers:

  • Thermal comfort. A sustainable building can reach naturally comfortable temperatures, by reducing hot and cold spots and eliminating the need for auxiliary heating or cooling. A lack of thermal comfort can cause stress among the occupants: too warm, people can feel tired; too cold, they will be restless and distracted.
  • High indoor air quality. Some studies have found a direct association between indoor environment quality and asthma and allergies. Indeed, indoor humidity and poor air cause mould and dust which are the main allergens. Good ventilation and air movement allow the air to stay fresh with reduced humidity and staleness.
  • Natural lighting. Daylight is beneficial for our sight and it stimulates our mental functions. Recent studies have implied that lighting can affect the level of stress and consequently productivity.
  • Acoustic Comfort. Sound pollution can affect our hearing ability and long-term exposure to loud noises may lead to hearing loss and permanent damage to our hearing. A respectful and good acoustic system can protect an indoor environment from sound pollution, whether internal or external.

The presence of all these factors plays an important role in increasing productivity and reducing absenteeism in schools and offices. Indeed, it is estimated that employee’s absenteeism can drop by 41% thanks to the healthier lifestyle, while productivity can improve up to 11%. Green schools and universities can lead to a 25% improvement on test scores.

Increased Asset Values and Greater Tenant Attraction

Thanks to all of the above-mentioned reasons, buildings with better energy efficiency credentials can enjoy increased marketability. As a growing number of investors and occupants are becoming aware of benefits and savings deriving from this investment, the probability of selling or renting a greenhouse is higher compared to a traditional construction. Studies around the world show that eco house designs can increase the resale value and rental rates respectively up to 20% and 8%.

Principles

Eco design

By following eco-housing principles and designing every new home or renovation to suit their local conditions, we are able to create beautiful homes that are cost-effective to run. We are passionate about lowering our carbon footprint and reducing our dependency on non-renewable forms of electricity. In fact, we have recently installed a 7.5kw solar power plant on the roof of our office as we work towards becoming completely carbon neutral. You can view our solar production and amount of kilograms of CO2 emissions we have saved each day here.

Here are just some of the ways that we can achieve an eco home renovation or new eco house design for you:

01

Flow-Through Ventilation

Nature provides us with cooling summer breezes and yet so many homes that are built today fail to take advantage of this natural gift. Our designs maximise the natural flow of air across your property enabling you to cool your home cost effectively. Through clever eco-housing designs and the use of strategies like open designs, breezeways and natural convection we can promote cross ventilation throughout your home keeping it fresh, cool and healthy the natural way.

02

Natural Lighting

Many modern home designs rely heavily on electric lighting. Dark depressing corners and poorly lit rooms can be overcome but installing more and more energy-sapping light globes but is it really in the home owner’s best interests? Well, we say no. As green architects, we believe that taking advantage of natural lighting is a far better option. Through our eco-friendly designs, we can create living spaces that are not only bright and airy but also warm, inviting and healthy.

03

Protection from The Elements

Whilst eco-housing design principles are about working with the climate, a great home design also offers protection from the harshest elements. Through the use of well-orientated living areas, adjustable shading devices, wide eaves, large covered decks, terraces and verandas we are able to protect your home from the heat of summer, whilst still allowing in the warming winter sun. Our designs offer you the best of the local climate whilst keeping the worst away.

04

Renewables – Energy & Materials

Our eco house designs focus on using renewable materials where possible, to help lessen our impact on the environment and to create a better world for our childrens’ futures. With rising power costs and growing concerns over man’s impact on the environment, we believe that taking advantage of renewable energy sources at a residential level is a sound strategy. Things like solar heating and photo-voltaic electricity help us in creating energy efficient homes that are not only eco-friendly but affordable to run.

05

Water Harvesting & Management Solutions

With our growing population and unpredictable climate conserving water has become a high priority. For this reason, our eco architectural designs focus on three main areas being: rainwater harvesting, water usage reduction and water recycling. We do this through rainwater storage tanks, careful planning of outdoor areas and things like greywater recycling systems. Our eco designs are highly drought tolerant. So if water conservation is important to you, then a dion seminara architecture designed home is exactly what you need.

06

Full Insulation

As eco architects, we understand that naturally heating and cooling your home is only half the battle. There is little point to a design that allows the low winter sun to warm your home only to see that heat escape through lack of insulation; which is why we focus heavily on the ceiling and wall insulation in our home designs along with the use of natural materials that have insulating properties.

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