Dr. Forgey had provided our class with a book on the “Sydney Sustainable House” and we had been discussing this house as a class since we were going to be visiting it for a tour with the owner, Michael Mobbs. I was given the chapters on working with contractors / consultants and the costs of the project to read and present to our class.
The chapter on working with contractors and consultants said exactly what I thought it would say and presented very good directions on how to work with these parties during the planning / construction of a sustainable home. Mr. Mobbs stated that the first step in this process is trying to find a contractor that has performed sustainable work before and then visiting these projects to see the results. This is a very good idea because it will give you confirmation that the contractor you are selecting is capable of performing the work to your desired level. Michael also listed a couple major actions that helped him during the construction of his home. These actions were to put your goals in writing in the contract and involve all project parties in the project meetings, regardless if they are completely involved in the main focus of the meeting. He said that it was important to clarify the contract language so that you could understand it and that you should not let someone else force their ideas of sustainability of your project. Michael also stated that you should pay close attention to your consultants advice to make sure they are not shifting responsibility away from themselves and that the bid process is a good way to check your contractors understanding of the project goals and your own understanding of what you want to achieve.
Mr. Mobbs started the project cost chapter with a statement that “costs are the single most important part of a sustainable project.” He said that you should figure out all of the operating costs of the house systems before you construct them so that you can figure out your payback time and make decisions on what measures are worth the money, time and effort involved to include them in your project. The Sydney Sustainable House renovation cost Michael $48,000 in 1996 and he estimated it would cost him around $25,000 to complete now. He said that the costs to build sustainable is going down but that it was still more expensive than conventional construction and that people would not fully buy in to it until the costs were equal. In this chapter he also spoke about his operating costs and proved that living sustainable can save you a significant amount on your bills and in the end would pay you back for the higher upfront cost involved in building sustainable systems in to your house.
When we showed up at the Mr. Mobbs house I was a bit shocked because the book made it look like a much nicer house than it was in person. That being said, Mr. Mobbs was an incredibly nice host and the house visit was very interesting. Mr. Mobbs told us that the house was completely self sufficient and had not drained or supplied any water to the municipal water system since its renovation 14 years ago. He also told us that the solar panels on his roof supply more energy to the house than it consumes and that he actually supplies energy back in to the power company’s grid during the day. The rainwater was all collected then used to supply the houses potable water and the wastewater is used to supply the houses non-potable water and to water the garden. We got a full tour of the house and Mr. Mobbs did a great job of explaining all of the homes systems and how it was a fight to build sustainable but that the reward for doing so made it well worth the fight. I think the thing about the house that I was most impressed with was the zero impact of the house and how he had maintained this for such a long period of time. It stands as a great example for everyone that you can build sustainably and that the effects can be realized long after the new home or renovation smell has left. I think I would have put a little more effort in to the appearance of the house but Mr. Mobbs seemed to be happy in the space so more power to him.
Following our visit to the Sydney Sustainable House we stopped by a development in the same neighborhood known as “One Central Park.” This was a very cool looking mixed-use development that was designed by some famous architects from different parts of the world. They are currently constructing the first two residential towers of the project and the models they showed us were very impressive. The project was going for a 6-star rating and had a zero net carbon goal. It was incorporating a rainwater harvesting system, a blackwater recycling system, a tri-generation power station, a green roof, a vertical garden façade and a solar panel system that is set up to track the sun. The project is also a redevelopment of an existing run down section of town and is going to incorporate transport, recycling and efficient appliances to achieve a more sustainable function for the development and its tenants. Residential / Multi-family buildings are very difficult to get certified as sustainable structures but this development proved that it can be done in the right market and ownership structure. It was a very impressive looking development that will hopefully get a lot of good press so other developers in the part of the country and beyond can see a great example of a sustainable residential / multi-family project. I think this is very important because in my opinion housing people in sustainable buildings is the easiest way to expose them to sustainable living which can in turn cause them to become more sustainable in their everyday lives.
To end the day we took a trip down to the Bondi Beach area and did the coastal walk around along the cliffs of around 5 parks and beaches. The weather was a little gloomy but the views were great and I was happy that I made it over to Bondi since it is one of the most famous beaches in the world.
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