Kirrawee Hempcrete Duplex 2024

Kirrawee Hempcrete Duplex

The aim for building this single storey duplex was to incorporate social and environmental sustainability to provide affordable and accessible accommodation for us (a senior couple) as we age, as well as for our daughter (who has a disability).

The outcome is a highly liveable home, which won the 2023 Liveable Housing Design Award from the Building Designers Association of Australia (https://bdaa.com.au/national-design-award-winners-2023/). The design aimed to meet and exceed all Silver level criteria of the Liveable Housing Association (LHA). It also meets the 12 core design elements in the LHA Gold Level. In addition, we were also aiming for low maintenance, which affected the choice of external cladding and the use of native gardens to the street front.

Environmental sustainability aspects included passive heating design and attention to providing a highly effective insulation envelope for the building. This envelope uses hempcrete in external walls, structural insulated roof panels with no penetrations, and double-glazing on all external doors and windows. Rainwater tanks supply our veggie garden, and we are a host on the ShareWaste platform (https://sharewaste.com/), which allows us to collect and compost food scraps from various neighbours.

Social and environmental sustainability features have led to financial sustainability outcomes. Electricity usage is low, even now that we charge an EV at home. We can minimise our use of grid electricity by monitoring usage and solar production. Hence, most electricity bills since we moved in have been in credit. Using low-flow taps minimises our water usage and, therefore, our water bills. Our veggie garden provides us (and neighbours) with low-cost, delicious, fresh seasonal veggies all year. In 2022, we saved over 2 tonnes of food scraps from landfill.