As a lecturer at Deakin University in Sustainable Property Development and Construction, I was keen to design and develop a house according to the principles of our theories and teachings.
Solar Passive Design, an affordable cost per m2, and being more sustainable whilst using standard industry materials and practices were our focus, to see how much of the building process we could manage and adapt for added sustainability.
Aspects of the project that we most enjoyed having influence in were maximizing solar gain through design, matching taught theory to this real-life project, designing to avoid excess or wasted space, and planning around predicted occupant behaviour, such as WFH. Seeking a minimalistic aesthetic, we also sought a ‘less is more’ design.
We thoroughly enjoyed the development process and have found great energy efficiency and living comfort in the completed project. The garden has since grown up beautifully around the property also, sitting the house in nature, and the house confirms that the taught theory really does work.
Since the project’s completion and after two years of monitoring its use, we’ve used this case to further revise our teachings and have other new ideas on how to be even more sustainable also, (such as how to have a smaller floor slab yet still have solar passive design and heating.)
We have also secured grants and developed several community learning modules around this project for various Victorian Councils, helping to share information on solar passive design.
The video of the BimBimBie Project is from 2023, though as the technology used to make it created such a good 3D walk-through and drone flyover, it’s a good one to keep using. Hope you enjoy it, and we hope to see you on site for SHD too.
For any queries on the BimBimBie Project I can be contacted by LinkedIn, as Thomas Keel. Thank you.
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